In His Footsteps
by HowlsMoon
Summary: We all know Sesshoumaru is the cold and ruthless Lord of the West, but he wasn't born an Ice Prince. Come now and learn of his journey from having everything a demon heir could want to having it all wrenched away piece by piece.
1. Happy Youth

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER ONE-:-:-:-:-

Crisp air ruffled through the treetops of surrounding woods of the Western Castle. It was a picturesque day; the sun glinted off the high turrets and played across the surface of courtyard ponds. The castle itself was a marvelous structure dating back before the lands were carved into the four cardinal kingdoms. Built by the hands of youkai and magi together, creating the marble-stone masterpiece incorporating styles collected from many sources. The halls were bustling as usual with servants scurrying to complete the day to day upkeep of the castle and grounds, the latter being a current hotspot of attention. The Lord of the castle was in and was training his young prince in the main training ground.

The exceptional day was no excuse to slack; spears rained from the castle roof, aiming straight at a small demon child nimbly dodging the blades.

"Father?"

"What is it, Sesshoumaru?" hollered Inutaishou from the sidelines. He grinned at his son who continued to successfully evade.

"I've been doing evasion drills for the past three hours, how much lo—ACK!" He swiftly bent double, then flipped back, skirting a near-hit, "how much _longer_ am I going to have to do this?" the young taiyoukai moaned.

"As long as it takes for you to do it perfectly!" His father answered upon hearing the grumbling.

"Haah." Sesshoumaru sighed; this drill was getting quite boring… "Ow!" He cried abruptly, grimacing and slapping a hand to his cheek; a razor-sharp blade had torn into his skin making a gash from ear to chin. The weapons ceased falling and Inutaishou strode to his son, clapping his back with a painful sounding thump, sending him stumbling a few steps forward with the force.

"Good try, son! Still not perfect, but if your anything like your mother, you'll be slick as a fox demon in no time!" his playful roar pulled Sesshoumaru's lips into a smile. He smeared the blood away from the already-healed cut.

"You think so?" He grinned up at his father, gleaming eyes full of promise.

"Of course! You're getting more powerful everyday."

Sesshoumaru was an extremely young taiyoukai of twenty years old. His shining silver hair reached to about the middle of his shoulder blades and ruffled in the wind. Large golden eyes adorned his young face along with the perfect twin maroon stripes on his cheeks, with marks on his eyelids of matching color. On his forehead the regal crescent moon embellished the pale skin, signifying him as heir to the West. Lately his father had been keenly interested in training his son. Evasive drills, hand-to-hand combat, poison control, poison whip precision, transformations, and sword spars with his father where only some of the maneuvers he practiced.

Inutaishou was a remarkably known daiyoukai of about four thousand years old. His maroon stripes where jagged and unruly, the opposite of the refined markings inherited by his son. His knee length sliver hair was gathered up in a high ponytail and he wore the armor plates and fur unique to his stature. Inutaishou was a devilishly talented warrior, truly ruthless and coldblooded when it was warranted. However he also had one of the softest hearts ever possessed by a pitiless warlord; he loved his son with all his heart. And more than ever he wanted Sesshoumaru to become stronger than himself.

"So then, what's next, Otousan?" Sesshoumaru asked brightly, cleaning the rest of the smudged blood from his cheek with his sleeve. A hint of fangs glinted at the edge of his mouth as he smiled.

"Hmm…" He snapped his fingers and twelve servants jogged out of an unseen exit from the castle and set targets up far from the two of them. "Poison whip practice, I think." Inutaishou said with an air of pride.

Sesshoumaru grinned; this was his favorite aside from sword fighting. The young inu youkai held his arm out at his side, and pointed his clawed fingers together. A small sickly green colored sphere formed at the apex of his claws and rapidly elongated into a whip. He reared back and lashed forward, easily destroying the targets and dicing them up for good measure with quick flicks of his wrist. His concentration and precision were truly prodigious.

"Hm." Inutaishou looked less impressed than he was. "I suppose that will do…" He said thoughtfully with a hint of mirth. Then, faster than Sesshoumaru could blink, and without any warning, Inutaishou drew his sword and charged at his son.

Sesshoumaru let out a strangled cry of surprise and tugged at his training sword. He brought it in front of him just in time and slid one foot back to brace himself. His eyes closed tight in a grimace.

"Never lose sight of your target in battle!" Inutaishou barked, and suddenly Sesshoumaru felt the quick release of pressure on his sword. His eyes flew open but Inutaishou had vanished.

"Father? Father, where did you go?" He cried, spinning around, attempting to be ready to defend himself from all possible sides.

"Don't only rely on your sight! Use your other senses as well!" His father's booming voice came from all around him; he was not able to pinpoint his location. He closed his eyes to catch his scent.

"I told you to not to close your eyes!" Sesshoumaru's lids flew open and his father was crouched in front of him, a grin greeting him.

"Ah, father, you're confusing me!" The small demon wailed, throwing his arms over Inutaishou's head and unbalancing the daiyoukai, taking them both down to the grass. He laughed and wrestled, playful growls escalated before he allowed his son to pin him.

"What's next?" Sesshoumaru leapt off his father, taking his hand and tugging him onto his feet.

"That's it." Inutaishou said simply, ruffling his hair.

"What's it?" bewildered, the young demon eyed his father. He'd never cut short a training session before.

"That's it for training, Sessh. I have a surprise for you today," continued the daiyoukai.

"Ooh, A surprise? What is it?"

"The daughter of the Northern lord is coming down here today to build a stronger alliance between us. She could be a good mate for you when you get older…" The demon smirked at his son's immediate reaction.

"F-father! I don't want a mate!" the outburst was followed by a deep blush creeping up his cheeks and his eyes averted themselves.

"She'll be here any minute. Ah! Here she comes now." He shaded his eyes and looked towards the main gates, a grin playing about his lips. Sesshoumaru looked too, squinting into the distance. His eyes widened at the creature he saw streaking towards them.

It was a small unicorn with a silver coat and a deep gold mane tossing in the wind. It suddenly jumped in the air, a ball of violet light engulfing it before it faded and a small girl was rocketing towards the ground.

Sesshoumaru scrambled around with his arms outstretched, his mouth in the shape of a large 'o'. He caught the girl with a small "ouff", and a cascade of golden hair flashed into his face.

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**A/N: Wow, it's been forever since I wrote an author's note…HELLO! My name is Cris, I'm a girl, and I'm 17 now (Whew I started my main story when I was like 13!) I had the username Youkai99Angel when I first uploaded these, so, even though it's unlikely, if anyone comes across this story that read it back then and thinks I stole it, I didn't. It's mine ^_^ and it's me. Anywho, it's nice to meet you, please drop me a review to let me know if my stories are still considered good :P, and thanks for reading!**

**Anyway, this story is probably my favorite out of my…trilogy I guess. There're three parts to this story...or there were…writing took a backburner to school in the middle of the sequel which remains unfinished. Anyway, They were really popular on here back when Inuyasha was on AdultSwim, but now that it's finished on there, I guess this fandom has slowed down some…I duno. But anyway, I took them off and fixed em up and I decided to re-upload em just for the heck of it, but back to this story…**

**Lol ok so yes, it starts out on a happy note. I believe Sesshoumaru had SOME joy in his life, but believe me, it gets very dark. Many a reviewer has told me they cried, though I don't think I'm terribly good at tear-jerkers.**

**So i hope you stick with me until we get to the good parts, I'm looking forward to feedback so please click that nice big review button and gimme watcha got! ^_^ Thanks for reading!**

**JA NE!**


	2. Akina

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER TWO-:-:-:-:-

Sesshoumaru found his footing and shook the golden hair from his face to be confronted with two amused violet eyes. She flipped out of his arms and landed neatly on her feet, smoothing down her short kimono and giving him a dazzling smile.

"I would have been fine landing on my own!" She laughed in a bright, twinkly voice. Sesshoumaru stifled a smile and bent at the waist in a customary bow.

"I am Sesshoumaru, heir of the Western lands. It is nice to meet you."

"I'm Akina. I am going to inherit the Northern lands from my daddy." She giggled a bit at his formal greeting and gave him a swift bow in return. Inutaishou watched them for a few moments with a small smile before a voice broke his thoughts.

"So? Can we?"

He looked down with wide eyes, blinking over his stare. He hadn't been listening to their young chatter.

"Can you what?" He asked, feeling a bit stupid.

"Can Akina and I go play? Mou, you should pay better attention!" Sesshoumaru scolded his father with a delicate frown. The daiyoukai chuckled and ruffled his son's silver hair a bit more vigorously that necessary, his bangs splaying across his face in a scattered array of fuzzed locks.

"Sure, Sessh, go play." Inutaishou said after properly mussing the small demon's hair which annoyed the pup to no end. Sesshoumaru frowned deeper and made a noise of displeasure as he turned and walked away with the giggling unicorn girl by his side. He reached up and made an attempt at fixing his hair, and when it was decent again he looked to Akina.

"So what do you want to do?" He asked, kicking at a loose stone in the pathway through the garden.

"Hmm…I think I want to…" Sesshoumaru gasped as she took off sprinting,"…RACE!" She yelled, looking back at the demon who gave a cry and furiously put his legs into action. Her golden hair whipped about her face, stinging her cheeks as she looked back at him and laughed joyously.

"No fair! You cheated!" Akina heard him yell. She laughed again and picked up her speed, leaping into the air. A haze of violet light consumed the area. Sesshoumaru shielded his eyes but continued running, and gave a triumphant cry as he passed her.

But not too soon the light diminished and a unicorn dropped from the sky, landing lightly on her hoofs. She reared; her deep golden hoofs thrashed at the air, her silver coat reflected the sun like a mirror, and her deep gold mane tossed wildly.

She took off like a shot, her speed unbelievable. She tossed her head in delight as she caught up to Sesshoumaru and galloped straight passed him.

Sesshoumaru scowled and started his own transformation. A ball of bright yellow energy engulfed him and lifted him from the ground. It sped through the air in erratic patterns before finally crashing back to earth at an angle that propelled the newly transformed beast dog over the earth. His four large paws hit the ground running.

The inu youkai was roughly the size of a large Great Dane, though several hundred times stronger. Sesshoumaru's true form also had a much more solid, muscular build than said dog. His ears where blown back by the wind in his face and his tongue lolled out joyfully, an instinct he could not yet quite curb.

He followed her path as they wound through the woods surrounding the Western Castle, slowly but surely catching up with Akina's lightning fast speed. Soon, Sesshoumaru overtook the her, using his knowledge of the surroundings. They were head to head, not racing to a particular location but rather just playing at a very high speed.

Sesshoumaru nipped at her hoofs teasingly, and she would dance around him lightly, tossing her mane. Finally, both of them were winded and skidded to a stop at a hot spring a few hundred feet in front of them.

Rib cages pulsing with ragged breathes, they stood in the water's reflection, taking in each other's forms. Sesshoumaru had never seen a unicorn in its true form in person. Sure he's seen pictures in books, but was far from the same.

Her pearly white horn jutted gracefully from her forehead, nestled in the deep golden mane of young unicorns. Her proudly arced neck gently sloped to her back and strong, lean muscled legs.

As they say, unicorns truly were the most beautiful beings-in human form and true form.

At the same time Akina swept her eyes over Sesshoumaru who she found utterly adorable in his still puppy-like form with large eyes and paws. He was about the same size as she was, though maybe a tad larger; she knew that he was hardly a fraction of the size he would grow to.

In the place of her dainty, spindly legs, he was slightly stout and muscled. His fur was extremely soft and pure white. His long ears folded over and the deep blue crescent moon set off the white along with the v-shaped marks on the corners of his muzzle which was open as the dog continued to pant.

She smiled and pressed a thought into his mind. Being a unicorn she was granted telepathic abilities and could speak to others through their minds. That was the only way unicorns communicated back at the valley. Sesshoumaru was startled to suddenly hear his friend's voice in his head, but remembered her ability and thought back in answer.

"_Yes, I'd love to go swimming."_ He replied in his mind. Akina whinnied happily and made a break for the hot spring. This particular one was not very high in temperature, but during the summer, as it was now, it would feel great. The heat from underground only took the initial chill off the water and left it comfortably warm.

Sesshoumaru followed, bounding right in, creating a great splash that flowed freely over the hot spring's water line.

Akina was playing in the more shallow part and Sesshoumaru paddled over to her as she frolicked in the water, kicking it up and watching as it caught the light and shimmered with rainbow hues.

He became more preoccupied with other things, however, as he surfaced. His fur was now uncomfortably heavy and stuck to his skin. Akina stopped short and whinnied long and hard out of laughter.

The dog looked much, much skinnier without his abundance of fur. She abruptly ceased her laughter though as Sesshoumaru growled playfully and shook his head, his ears flapping as the shaking spread to the rest of his him, the water flying everywhere. Akina recoiled with a snort, her head lying almost flat against her neck until he stopped.

His eyes glinted mischievously and he barked a laugh as she half-heartedly shook her own dripping mane that was now falling in wet, lank locks into her eyes. The foal whinnied again and jostled her hooves in the water, telling him his attempts to get a rise out of her were useless.

Sesshoumaru gave a low, apologetic bark. Akina came close to him, nuzzling her head against his. The action wasn't nearly as intimate in their true forms as it would have been in their human forms, and the inu youkai let out a contented growl. She pressed another comment into his mind, Sesshoumaru took in what she said and moved back.

The violet light blazed out again and in a few second's time, receded to leave the girl with sodden hair and clothes, sitting waist deep in the warm water. She looked at him and laughed again, bringing a wet hand up to pet his dank fur. It was still as soft as ever despite being quite soaked. Sesshoumaru licked her hand and nuzzled into her palm until he shuffled his paws in the water and backed away from Akina.

The ball of iridescent yellow light incased him again and shot him up into the air, landing him a few seconds later in the water. He gave a cry as he was hurled into a deep part of the spring and swam to the surface, Akina right next to him.

"You okay?" She asked with a giggle, trying to see him through the soaked curtain of silver hair that was plastered to his face. He flipped it back while treading water to keep himself up then dunked back under to let his long hair fall back into place. Once he resurfaced, he wiped water from his eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine…just need to work on that landing…" He cracked a smile and Akina giggled. "Let's get back to the castle; I'd like to change out of these clothes," said the waterlogged inu. She nodded and followed him back to the bank. When they climbed over the pebbly ground, Akina wrung out her hair and clothes, shaking her legs and arms, looking like a wild monkey.

"You got a better idea?" She snapped as Sesshoumaru laughed at her openly.

"How about we race again? The air will dry out our clothes. But no cheating this time…and no true forms." He commanded, setting the rules with an accusing glare. Akina harrumphed and stuck her hands on her hips.

"I wasn't planning on cheating; I was only joking last time." She responded indignantly.

"Alright then." Sesshoumaru said, moving to stand next to her.

"A clean race." She confirmed, setting herself in start position with Sesshoumaru following.

"Ready…" He dug his toes into the gravely sand.

"Set…" She lifted her hips, raising her head.

"GO!" Sesshoumaru cried, blasting off like a rocket with Akina on his tail.

Inutaishou met them in front of the stairs leading up to the Entrance Hall, catching them both in his arms as they hurdled into him.

"Whoa!" overwhelmed by the force, he was pushed backwards and they all fell together in a heap.

Just then, a woman poked her head out of the castle. She strode with an almost manly walk that was somehow elegant, and told of her self-confidence as she walked down the stairs of the Entrance Hall.

"What is all the noise about?" She asked. Her curious, crystal blue eyes roved over each figure before landing on her mate. The daiyoukai untangled himself, moved towards her, and slipped his arm round her waist.

"Nothing, Seisha dear…Sessh and Akina-chan were just playing around." He answered with a wide grin, she smiled gently.

Seisha was Lady of the Western lands and an extremely powerful dog demon of mixed descent, her father was a wolf demon and her mother was a unicorn. Mixed descendants were usually much more in tune with their original heritages as their blood was not yet fully diluted.

No one besides Inutaishou knew anything about her parents. Seisha deplored ever having to talk about them, so she never did.

Her parents were killed, and to this day she never knew why. She knew it was a result of their cross-mating, which was supremely taboo in their time, but why would that cause their death? Seisha would have understood if they were turned into outcasts, but murder was not something she would have expected from the high demon community.

The thoughts still hurt her, but she learned to let go of the questions after years of thinking on them. As a matter of fact, it was when she met Inutaishou that she stopped and was at relative rest about her mother and father's untimely deaths. She remembered well the day she met him…He had saved her life.

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**A/N: So here we are introduced to Seisha, my version of Sesshoumaru's mother. Next chapter we'll hear her story. Thanks for reading, please continue =)**

**JA NE!**


	3. The Past's Past

-:-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER THREE-:-:-:-:-:-

-:-flashback-:-

_She was rummaging through the forest, scavenging for food. It was only three years after her parents' death. She was thinking about them again and tears blurred her vision as she looked over the ground for anything edible. Anything. She could feel the first winds of winter blowing in and she knew that most critters that would usually be her prey were starting to pack down for winter, safe in their burrows or caves. Safe from her hungry fangs. _

_She swiped angrily at the tears rolling down her cheek with the back of her hand. She knew crying was dangerous; youkai predators would smell them and come to the distracted or wounded prey. She always managed to get away, but the commotion of a battle usually scared all her food into running off and that was not what she needed at the moment. Never the less she couldn't stop them from coming whenever she thought of them._

_In the inner gardens of the Western Castle, the young, teenage-looking Inutaishou was practicing drills. His sword twirled expertly, his mid-back length hair fanned out, and his golden eyes glittered with pride at his own progress when, suddenly, his eyes widened and he faltered. His foot hooked over the opposite ankle, making him trip and fall, sprawling on the ground. The taiyoukai lifted his head from the grass and shook his head, groaning, as he stood to his full height and lifted his nose into the air, trying to catch the scent that had thrown him off. _

"_Who is that?" He muttered to himself, promptly sheathing his sword, leaning forward and sprinting rapidly to the culprit. He slowed as he came to the forest that surrounded the grounds and finally stopped before the snarled and tangled limbs of the woods. He checked for the youkai and sighed, beginning to pick his way through the limbs grabbing out for him. A few feet in, the trees began to thin and became a normal forest past the wall of rough bushes at the entrance. He located the demon again and took off. A few minutes in, he halted at a small clearing surrounded by a clean circle of trees about ten feet in diameter. His eyes narrowed._

"_I know you are there! You are trespassing in the Western Land's castle grounds. I demand that you reveal yourself at once!" His loud declaration was met by silence, he growled slightly. "You will come out at once!" His new command was also responded to silently. His snarl began to crescendo slightly, his lips curled back just a bit, bearing his fangs to the unseen intruder. "Come out or I will attack!" He cried loudly, almost jumping when the tall bushes in front of him tussled and leaves drifted to the forest floor._

_He watched as a slender—too slender—girl timidly stepped out of the brush, her short, messy, silver hair fell just passed her shoulders and her strong build was compromised by her malnutrition. Her rags of clothing hung off her body like shreds of fabric on a stick and he could practically see her skittish mind state. But the thing that really captured him and turned him speechless was her crystal blue eyes. She stared back at him; her gaze was fearful yet unrelenting._

"_Who…who are you?" Inutaishou asked, frowning. He didn't recognize her demonic traits as any youkai he'd ever seen before. But despite her emaciated condition, he thought she was stunningly beautiful and untamed…pure. He took a step forward, jumping out of his thoughts when she flinched violently at his movement and took a half-step back._

"_Please don't touch me…let me go…" The girl's sapphire eyes seemed scared, yet depression was readable also and this intrigued him. Her large crystal eyes flicked over him; she knew he was the Western Prince and she didn't want a mix-up with the Lord._

_Inutaishou abruptly came to his mind and stood his ground, responding to her plea._

"_I cannot do that. I need to bring you to the castle now. Come with me." He held out his hand firmly and continued, "Give me any weapons that you have." _

_Her eyes were wide with fear as her hand inched towards the rusted, dented, hilt of a sword at her side but a sudden horrified, determined glaze came over her face. It was as if she couldn't even believe what she was going to do, yet she was ready to do it to her best ability. Her head snapped up and her legs sprung to work, rapidly propelling her into motion as she careened left, bolting out of the clearing. _

_Inutaishou was after her instantly, he wound through the trees of the familiar territory. _

_She ran blindly, jumping out of the way of trees as they presented themselves stubbornly in front of her. Her body was losing energy quickly and her stomach felt like it was imploding in on itself. Her face twisted in agony yet she pressed further._

_Inutaishou knew that they were now outside of the Western Castle's territory and nearing a demon's layer. It was a very strong, large demon… which did not make for a good combination at all. Soon she would run right down into it. He ran low to the ground, pushing around trees. He cringed when, sure enough, he heard a sudden scream. He continued sprinting and abruptly, the forest was left behind him. Now the only thing in his vision was a giant rift in the ground, which fell down at least a hundred feet. He dove off the edge without hesitation and streamlined his body, cutting the air as if he were an arrow. He sailed down to the girl who had her limbs flung out wide to slow her descent and caught her in his arms with just enough time to land safely on the bottom of the canyon. _

_It was as if a chunk of the desert had been flung from the sky and slapped right into this immense aperture. The sand was dry and orange-colored and dust hung around him in the air that had been disturbed when he landed. He set down the girl, momentarily distracted at just how thin she was but then returned his senses to the job of finding the demon that claimed ownership to the desolate land beneath his feet. He was glad that she was unconscious; otherwise he was quite sure that she was the kind of person to make a racket and that was not something smart to do at the moment._

_He continued to hold her up as his narrowed eyes scanned the land. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. Looked like the demon was either sleeping or it was gone for the moment which gave him time to get away. His relief, though, was short-lived. _

_The girl suddenly awoke and he froze as her confused eyes met with his. They widened and he braced himself. A fist came flying and floored the dog demon with an uppercut to his jaw before he could even get a word out. The girl scrambled away from him, but was too weak to keep her legs moving and fell heavily to the ground, her chest heaving. She abruptly looked up and took a large breath, her smoldering eyes looked like heated water reaching boiling point._

"_What the hell are you thinking? Why don't you just leave me alone? I'm not even in the castle's grounds anymore!" One of her fists pounded the sandy ground beside her and her tone raised. "I wasn't hurting anything; I was only looking for food! Why can't you understand that and just go away?" She took in air, trying to calm herself. During her short rant she had ignored his frantic attempts to silently shush her; but no amount of wild arm waving could stem her anger especially since now she was going to starve and all because of the egotistical dog who was…looking scared for some reason… "What's wrong with you?" She asked finally, raising an eye brow at him. His shoulders sagged, looking defeated as his gaze focused on a point somewhere passed her shoulder._

_Suddenly, a thundering, echoing footfall shook the loose sand around her and she froze; slowly turning her torso and head around and nearly fainted again. _

_A colossal beast stood behind her, lashing its tail in fury. Its searing red eyes bored into the two of them and the girl found the strength to stand and back up to where Inutaishou was standing, gazing up at the demon. _

_The beast was sandy in color, its fur the same shade as its surroundings with a few black markings circling the tip of its tail. _

"_Wh-Wha…What is that?" The girl whispered over the snorting breaths of the beast, not taking her eyes off it._

"_We call it Keiichi…But aside from that, it is very strong. It is also dim-witted, and sensitive to _sound_ which is why I was trying to tell you to shut up." He hissed back, standing completely still._

"_Well how was I supposed to know that?" She retorted a bit too loudly. She cringed as it raised a limb and swiped at them. They ducked and the blow passed right over their heads. Its powerful tail hit the side of the cliff, shaking the land again and its thundering voice interrupted them, a roll of rancid breath washed over them, making their skin crawl and eyes water._

"_WELL IF IT ISNT THE WESTERN PRINCE! YOU ARE DISTURBING MY TERRITORY! I WAS HOPING FOR A MEAL AND HERE IT IS!" The deafening voice now laughed and continued. "NOW THAT I HAVE YOU, YOU WILL NOT BE LEAVING, MIGHTY PRINCE!" It lurched forward and made a grab for them, but they both shot off, running from the beast._

"_I thought you said it was stupid!" The girl panted, "It sounded pretty damn smart to me!" She yelled, panting desperately for air as she found herself falling behind. Inutaishou didn't notice and continued running and talking as if she were still beside him._

"_He IS stupid, stupid! He thinks he can capture me! That's as stupid as it gets!" He said, flashing a grin that died as he looked beside him. At the same time he heard a scream and he dug his heels into the sand to stop. He whirled around and saw Keiichi the demon rearing back to its full height with the girl in his clutch. He gave a growl of frustration and back tracked to stand in front of the demon. It held her in front of its face, its powerfully foul breath covered her and she choked, her hand grasping her throat as her lungs were defiled._

"_AH! AN APPITIZER!" It roared. As its eyes raked her skinny frame, it let out an obvious growl of disappointment yet still let its tongue roam out and wet its chops with rank saliva as a way of saying that it didn't care._

_Inutaishou drew his sword and a breath._

"_You let go of her this second, Keiichi!" The dog bellowed, raising his sword. The demon laughed again._

"_DO NOT BE MAKING SUCH DEMANDS. YOU WILL BE LUCKY TO LEAVE HERE WITH YOUR OWN LIFE. AS FOR THIS ONE…HER FATE HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED!" The demon opened its jaws and was about to drop the girl in them when a bright yellow light overtook Inutaishou. As the transformation completed, a large dog stood in his place. It roared and reared back on its hind legs. Inutaishou planted two paws firmly on the demon's chest, his claws digging into it. It bellowed and recoiled back, falling against the cliff wall, Inutaishou held it in a pin against the rocks._

_Inutaishou dragged his razor sharp claws down the body of the demon, listening to it cry out in agony. His poison saliva also took its toll as it dripped out of his mouth in long, ropey strands of acid. Inutaishou acted quickly. _

_He aimed a swipe at the demon's face, lacerating its grotesque features, and then went for the arm that was still clenching the girl who he was putting his neck on the line for. He took the arm in his jaws, sinking his teeth into it until it let go of her. She fell through the air but Inutaishou caught her by the back of her thin clothes with his jaws as he dislodged himself from the beast. Only then did he leap easily out of the ravine, leaving the beast wailing out in anguish behind to lick its wounds; he didn't really have the desire to kill it, so it was Keiichi's lucky day. _

_Once he was at the edge of the forest, a ways away from the rift, he set down the girl, she had fainted somewhere along the line and was splayed out ungracefully. He returned to his humanoid form and gently took her in his arms. Trespassing was not the reason Inutaishou wanted to bring her back to the castle. She was obviously in need of medical attention._

_He looked down at her in his arms. Now that he was able to examine her scent fully, he could tell that she was indeed a dog demon, yet her eye color still threw him for a loop. Why were her eyes such a stunning color of blue? He didn't understand, but knew things would get straightened out once they got to the castle._

_When they arrived, both Inutaishou and his father insisted that she stay until her health and weight were back on the right track. During that time Inutaishou got her name: Seisha. And over the few weeks she was there, Seisha and Inutaishou became good friends. But all too soon, it was time for her to move on._

"_I wish you could stay…" Inutaishou mumbled as he walked her to the Entrance Hall. She looked at him sadly and responded._

"_I'm sorry, I can't." Then she left, waving half-heartedly. _

_She left only three weeks after she came and Inutaishou was immensely saddened to see her go. He asked her to stay many times, but she always declined. _

_A few months later a bad blizzard blew in. Inutaishou was in his chambers with a dusty old tome open in front of him. He was thinking of her again, not concentrating on the book in the least. He knew he must have read the same line so many times over… He was laying on his bed on his stomach, his feet waving in the air and his eyes roaming over a page in his book unfocusedly as his mind was wandering… Suddenly he turned towards the door as they burst open._

"_Inutaishou-sama! Seisha-sama is here! She wants to see you." Relayed a servant, then withdrew his head from the room, and left the door open for the prince to come out._

"_Seisha…?" He leapt from his bed, upending the book and ran for the door, leaving it carelessly open in his wake. He skidded to a stop in the Entrance Hall, looking around for her. She was by the door; a few female servants were fussing over her but her eyes shot right passed them and locked onto Inutaishou as he jogged up to her._

"_H-hey…I um…I wanted to ask if I could stay here for a while." She said, her teeth chattering uncontrollably with her arms crossed over her chest._

"_Yes, of course. Stay here for as long as you want." The taiyoukai replied, his eyes wide at her freezing state. White slush clung to her clothes and weighed down her hair, splattering onto the flecked marble floor. Her lips were as blue in color as her eyes, and he could hear her stomach growling angrily. "Come on, I kept your room available in case you came back." He led her up a flight of stairs to the second level and opened her door for her._

"_Thanks…" Seisha mumbled meekly. She hated asking people for things and now she felt like she was mooching off her only friend. _

"_No problem! You know you're always welcome here!" He said with adoration in his voice. At this Seisha's eyes became soft and they sparkled with gratitude; she smiled and hugged him appreciatively._

"_Thanks 'Taishie." She said, beaming now, as she used the nickname that annoyed him to no end._

_He made a face at her that resembled disgust at the use of the name, but smiled none the less._

"_Go take a bath, you stink." He grinned jauntily and turned, stumbling a bit as Seisha closed the door forcefully, knocking him in the back. He rubbed the back of his head with a grimace but chuckled under his breath, leaving her door to retire to his private library._

_Seisha slammed the door shut snappishly. She knew he was joking, and the real reason for her to take a bath was to get her body temperature up, but she couldn't help getting him back since the opportunity presented itself._

_After her bath, she left her room in search of her friend. She found him in the library at a desk and sat with him. He spoke to her without looking up from his book._

"_You know, I wish you would stay. I know you don't have a home and I know you love it here. I see how you enjoy making friends out of my servants…" He said softly, his eyes scrolling over the page._

"_And you also know that I can't do that. I can't stay in one place. All of Japan has been my home for too long, I just can't…" Tears began to gather above her lashes. She always got a bit emotional when Inutaishou asked her to stay because she knew that she wanted to, but just couldn't._

"_It's alright," He said, "I understand."_

_When the storm finally blew itself out, Seisha got ready to leave, but not before she and Inutaishou were even more of inseparable friends._

_After that, she visited the castle often, sometimes for weeks at a time. They took walks in the gardens and Inutaishou even prodded gently about her parents. He slowly learned more and more about her, but she always left him. The call of wide free spaces pulled her from the castle, but she also always returned - a smile on her face and a sparkle in her crystal eyes._

_They had been together like that for over five years before Inutaishou finally confessed his love on one of their walks. Seisha was in tears of happiness as she accepted the offer to live at the castle at last and they mated a year later with his parents' blessings._

_Three centuries later, Inutaishou's mother and father stepped down from their reign and relinquished it to their son and daughter-in-law._

_Inutaishou ruled for eleven centuries before he and Seisha conceived Sesshoumaru. He was their beautiful baby demon with silky locks of silver hair, perfect pale skin and tiny, pearly while fangs and his miniature crescent moon marking on his forehead and tiny maroon stripes at his cheeks, wrists, hips and ankles. He was their darling baby boy that they knew was destined for greatness._

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**A/N: This chapter was going back even FARTHER in time, and of course it's all creative license, I'm making my own background here. We'll be getting back to Sessh in the next chappie.**

**Uuhm, well I can't think of anything more to say really except for please keep reading and throw me a review here and there to tell me how I'm doing! **

**JA NE!**


	4. Around the Castle

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER FOUR-:-:-:-:-

Seisha was snapped out of her memories by her son's and Akina's voices as they escalated.

"Yeah, you want to come in and see the castle? You can pick out your room if you want!" Sesshoumaru said excitedly, he loved showing off his beautiful home.

"Thank you, that sounds fun!" Akina replied, following her host as he led her up the stone stairs. They disappeared from sight and Inutaishou's arms swept around Seisha's shoulders.

"I think they'll be a nice couple." He stated matter of factly. Seisha shook her head almost immediately.

"No…" She answered gently, "…No, they will be wonderful friends."

Inutaishou stared at her oddly for a second then smiled.

"Maybe."

In the castle Akina toured the halls with Sesshoumaru now behind her; he was having trouble keeping up with her amazing speed. She danced through the halls, turning and twisting, diving down corridors and peeking into random rooms that tweaked her interest.

Suddenly, she skidded to a stop, her legs working furiously to reverse her momentum and back track to a door. Sesshoumaru came to a halt just in time to avoid impact with her and glared curiously at the unicorn.

"What's in this room?" She asked, reaching for a handle, watching her reflection in the polished wooden door.

"That's a royal guest room. This floor has the finest chambers of the castle. Father's is down at the end of the hall and mine is right there," He pointed to a door on the same side of the corridor, about thirty feet down. On the door was a stunning carving of a dog demon standing in a field of tall grass with wildflowers dotting the meadow, it was looking up at the sky in a very strong, symbolic pose. Its fur was blown dramatically by wind while a large crescent moon loomed over its head. She scanned her eyes over it, wide with wonder. Sesshoumaru gestured back to the room they were standing in front of.

"You can have this room if you like, it's vacant. I can ask one of the castle's artists to carve a picture of a unicorn into your door, it would be really pretty." He suggested.

Akina pushed the door wide open and took a look inside. The room was breathtakingly beautiful, the color scheme was pastel pinks and violets with golden tones that made the room look like a treasure chest. The drapes around the bed were embroidered with amazing depictions of flowers and birds, cranes to be exact.

Sesshoumaru could tell the very instant that she stepped foot into the room that she would want it and he couldn't blame her.

She shot into the room and leapt onto the bed, landing on her face and muffled loudly through the fabrics.

"I want it!" She sat up and smiled, "Please?"

"It's yours then."

"Oh, thank you!" She bounced off the bed and caught her friend around his shoulders, giving him a tight hug. The inu was startled at first, but briefly returned the embrace before moving away.

"Does this mean that you're staying here?" He asked.

She froze; her face blank, but soon put a smile back in place.

"Boy, I hope so. I like it here. Daddy didn't say anything about it though, but I bet he'd say yes if I asked him!" Her eyes sparkled with hope and Sesshoumaru nodded.

"I'm still going to tell the artists to carve your door, this will always be your room whether you stay or not, alright?"

She closed her eyes and smiled, "Alright!"

Sesshoumaru grinned back, his tiny fangs peeking out and shining in the light and his golden eyes were filled with contentment.

"I have an idea, how about we go back to the unicorn valley and ask your parents if you can stay here for a while? I would like to meet them."

"That's sounds wonderful! I could show you around the valley!" She added brightly. He nodded.

"I'll go ask, I'm so excited!" Sesshoumaru smiled, his eyes bright. He took her hand and sped out of the room, once out of the door, he let go and she followed, twirling about on light footsteps, humming a song under her breath. They arrived at Seisha's private library moments later and Sesshoumaru pushed open the door after knocking.

"Yes?" Seisha asked kindly, her eyes lighting with warmth, a book held open in her lap and Inutaishou was sitting next to her in their dark leather chairs. "Is there something you need?"

The young dog demon stood before both of his parents and smiled. "Can we go to the unicorn valley and ask Akina's parents if she could stay here?" He asked, looking with hopeful eyes between Inutaishou and Seisha. The two adults exchanged glances then Seisha sighed, shrugged slightly and nodded, as if she and her mate had just shared a conversation.

"Sure, Sessh, go ahead, but don't get your hopes up. Akina here is heir of the Northern Lands; her parents may not want her to be away from their lands." Inutaishou said, patting his son on the head, ruffling his hair slightly. Sesshoumaru brushed off his father's hand absently and smiled up at him.

"Yes, father. Thank you!" He bowed shallowly, then turned to his mother and repeated the action.

"When can we leave?" Akina asked, her eyes twinkling.

"Why, tomorrow morning if you're ready." Seisha replied, finally setting down her book on a side table.

"Sounds great," said Akina, smiling. She looked out of the window, seeing twilight just starting to fall. They still had a lot of time before tomorrow came. She put her hand in Sesshoumaru's and began dragging him from the room. "C'mon, I want you to show me around the castle!"

"Uh…Alright, alright," he said, slipping his hand out of hers as they exited into the corridor, "What do you want to see?" He asked.

"Everything!"

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"That's not possible, it would take _months_ to show you _everything_. Plus, I don't think even father knows the whole castle, it's so huge." Sesshoumaru told her, holding his head high, proud of his soon-to-be castle. "I can show you my favorite places though…" He suggested, golden eyes looking at her curiously.

"That would be brilliant, thanks. So where to first?"

"Well, I love the springs…"

"But we already went to the springs."

"No, no, these are different." He insisted, "They're inside. My mother told me it was done by magic."

"Really?" Akina was skeptical as they walked down the hallway, but became excited as they climbed stairs. "It's really up here? That's amazing!" Sesshoumaru smiled too and pushed open the door. She was startled at first when the warm, humid air clouded instantly around her head, but quickly stepped through it and stared in wonder at the three pools in the giant room.

Sandy gravel crunched under her feet and she took a deep breath of the moist, fresh smell of the vibrant water plants, gentle moss and warm rocks.

She went towards the closest spring as if in a trance.

She was just about looking ready to jump in when Sesshoumaru took her arm gently, "Come, there are other places for you to see." He smiled at her disappointed expression but she took his hand to follow him none the less. "Next is the training room, We use it when the weather is bad, but it's really amazing, sometimes I go there just to think…There are lots of hidden niches and unseen places, I love to explore, I think it changes on its own, so it's always different."

"Wow that sounds incredible. We have a palace back in the Unicorn Valley, but we don't have that kind of room." She said, impressed.

The rest of the day they spent exploring the huge castle.

They were going down another corridor when Akina abruptly turned to him.

"When was the last time you slept?" She asked suddenly.

"Huh?" He was thrown off by her random question. "Uh, well…a few days, I guess."

"Me too. Maybe we should get some sleep before we leave tomorrow." She suggested.

"Alright, let's go back to our rooms then."

They reached their rooms and parted into their separate quarters. Sesshoumaru looked out of his window, up at the waning crescent moon. By its position, he figured that it was around one o' clock in the morning and turned from his balcony to sleep for a few hours and get ready for the rest of the day.

oOo

In the library, Seisha continued reading her book, frowning into the pages. Inutaishou finally gave up trying to translate a scroll and looked up at his mate.

"Alright, what is it? I can't focus with you glaring at that book like it did you a personal wrong." He set down his calligraphy brush and stared intently at her as she sighed irritably.

"Do you think it was wise to let two young demons travel halfway across Japan alone? What if something happened?" Her book was now set aside and she was pacing the ground in front of the desk at which Inutaishou sat.

"Oh, they'll be fine, don't worry! They are young, but they're not naïve. They know how to fight and protect themselves. It's not like we're sending helpless children into the wilderness; Sesshoumaru and Akina will be just fine. Anyway, Akina came here all on her own, right?" He gave her a prodding smile, knowing she couldn't refuse him, especially with his proof. She relaxed and sat on the edge of the desk, breathing a sigh.

"I guess."

"Good, now let me work!" He shooed her playfully from his desk. She slapped his hands away and resumed her reading with a lighter heart.

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**A/N: Still happy times ^_^**


	5. On the Way

-:-:-:-CHAPTER FIVE-:-:-:-

When morning came, Sesshoumaru and Akina stood in the Entrance Hall, waving to Inutaishou and Seisha as they started down the stone path that led towards the main gate a few miles ahead of them. Seisha and her mate stood in the open door for a few minutes, watching the two small demons as they walked briskly down the path and were soon out of sight.

"They will be fine." Inutaishou reiterated from the night before. Seisha smiled.

"I know they will be." They walked back into the castle, Inutaishou's arm around Seisha's shoulders as he led her back.

Akina leapt easily over the main gates with Sesshoumaru right beside her.

"How long does it take to get there?" Sesshoumaru asked, sailing through the air as he leapt over the tall gates. They touched down lightly and started a slow jog, sporadically coming closer and apart as they wound through the dense threes.

"It doesn't take that long; at this pace, maybe three or four days."

Sesshoumaru grunted his understanding and continued running alongside his friend. The packs on their backs contained extra clothes and some food in case they couldn't find anything, even though that was unlikely.

They ran until darkness had completely fallen and the wind rustled through the trees, making branches snap back and slap Sesshoumaru in his face. After that fiasco, (Sesshoumaru had attacked the tree for hitting him, even though it was his half-developed night vision that was the cause,) they decided to camp down for that night.

Since the air was heavy, they both could tell that it was going to rain during the night so they set up a tarp, hanging it in between four closely clustered trees.

Under the protection of their tarp, they heard the pitter patter of rain a few minutes later as the sky began dropping crystal water from above them.

Akina suddenly scooted over to Sesshoumaru and a few minutes later, the shower evolved into a full blown thunder storm. They huddled close, being unable to sleep was not a problem, they had both slept well the night before and they would not need to sleep again until after they reached the Northern Lands.

Very soon their tarp was sagging with the weight of the water gathered in it. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked, splitting the sky in two. The super-heated air clapped back together and more thunder deafened them.

Akina stood and pressed up to drain the water that had gathered in their tarp. Sesshoumaru helped her set a sturdy branch under it and formed a place where the water could escape.

"There, that should hold it until morning."

"Yeah…"

Akina nuzzled into his arm, he had one behind her shoulders and the other was resting in his lap.

"Ne, Sesshoumaru…" Akina asked softly, but loud enough to be heard over the rain.

"Hai?"

"Do you think my Papa will let me stay at your castle?"

"I hope he will. I wish I had a real little sister."

"I have a brother, you know… He isn't born yet, but I can feel that he is a boy. Momma says so too. I can't wait until he's born; I know he will be very cute." She smiled just thinking about it.

Through the night they tried to stay awake, but with nothing to do they just laid together in a friendly manner.

Finally morning came. The light of the new sunrise shone as it swept blaringly over the wet land.

"Let's go." Akina said. Sesshoumaru nodded and packed their things. They started off again, now trotting along on the thoroughly sodden land, their feet sometimes disappearing into the unseen pot holes.

They continued on until about midday when Akina suddenly cried out. Sesshoumaru almost tripped in surprise.

"What? What is it?" He asked, looking around wildly for signs of danger. "What is it?" He asked again, turning to Akina expectantly.

"Look, a spring! It's so big!" She exclaimed, sand flew everywhere as she slid to a halt on the spring's shore.

She set down her bag and moved to jump in, when Sesshoumaru stopped her. He grabbed the back of her clothes and tugged her back.

"Akina, we have to keep going!" He said sternly. "If you stop at every spring, we will never get there!" She pouted at him.

"Oh, fine! You're no fun!" She snatched up her bag and resumed her pace again.

They continued their journey without much talking. The wind in their faces would swallow up their words like a vacuum if they even tried, and so they traveled on in silence. Through the morning hours, the bright sun evaporated the water from the saturated ground, making the forest floor hot, muggy and humid.

"Let's go through the trees, I'm dying down here!" Akina exclaimed, grabbing Sesshoumaru's wrist and jumping through the canopy, dragging the other young demon behind her. As they broke the treetops, Akina sighed in the cool air that caressed her heated cheeks. She remained suspended in air a few seconds before dipping back down and kicking off a branch. Sesshoumaru followed her.

"Let's move faster, it's starting to get dark. We'll set up camp after sunset, alright?" He crossed over in front of her in mid-leap like some sort of giant grasshopper. She tugged on his hair gently while moving out of his way.

"Yeah, that sounds good." She yelled back over the roaring winds surrounding them.

They sped up and pressed further until night fell like a blanket over the lands. They had cleared the wide-spread forest that spanned across the western lands, standing tall between it and the Northern Border, indicating that they were almost out of the Western Lands.

When the moon was rising and the sun was well hidden, the two slowed to a stop. They caught their breath for a few seconds before setting out to find a place to rest. They uncovered a small, cozy niche in the vast land covered in tall grass and sparse trees. It was only a few large rocks that formed a U shape, but it was all they needed for now.

Sesshoumaru cleared the space of grass with his poison whip and started a fire for light as they rested against a protruding boulder. Akina sat beside him, her head comfortably resting on his shoulder as he stared thoughtfully into the bright fire's embers.

"So, you said that you were getting a baby brother." He said suddenly, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"Mmhmm." She mumbled, taking her head off his shoulder, leaning back against the rock and sticking her hands behind her head as Sesshoumaru turned to look at her.

"Do you know what his name will be?" His gaze once again left her and roamed among the bright stars.

"I want him to be Koemi, but Mama says that she likes Akiru." Akina said softly, as if she didn't want to break the silence that was blanketing around them.

"That sounds too much like your name." Commented Sesshoumaru as he wrinkled his nose a bit.

"Yeah, that's what I said." She laughed under her breath.

"What are your parents like?" Asked the dog demon, studying the fire again.

"Hm? Oh, they're brilliant. Mama is very beautiful and Papa says that I look just like her." She giggled gently and flicked her deep golden hair over her shoulder. "Papa agrees with me. He says that he likes the name Koemi."

Sesshoumaru nodded. He was hardly tired, yet he felt like he wanted to sleep. He figured Akina felt the same when he heard her yawn. They dozed for short periods during the night and when morning broke the horizon, Sesshoumaru gently shook awake his friend, he himself squinting in the bright morning sun.

"Come on, Akina…We should make it there today if we hurry."

They got up and cleared their campsite then set off once again, their pace slightly quicker. Akina was a morning person, so she was bright eyed soon after she awoke. Sesshoumaru didn't sleep often, but when he did, he liked to remain so until he felt rested. Luckily, he felt fine, so they made progress in good time.

The hours flew by like the wind blowing passed them and soon they neared another forest. Sesshoumaru could tell it was different, though. Somehow, he felt so very peaceful…he just wanted to sleep again. He slowed to a stop, his eyes drooping as he fumbled a few more steps. Akina stopped in front of him. He could see a smile on her face.

"What's happening? What's so funny? Why are you smiling?" He asked all at once, frowning at her.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you…this is one of the defenses that protect the valley. The good news is that we're almost there." She laughed nervously and gave him an apologetic look. "Here…" Her gaze dropped to the floor and she looked around for a few seconds more before she bent down and he heard a soft "Ah ha!" She resurfaced with a soft, pale pink flower in her hand.

"Akina, I hardly think it's the time for—" He began with annoyance, but she held up her other hand to stop him.

"It's an herb, not just a flower. Eat it. The petals only." She commanded. Realization dawned on Sesshoumaru's sleepy mind. He took it from her and did as she said, mere seconds later, his head was cleared.

"Warn me if there is going to be something like that!" He said grumpily.

"Right. Sorry…"

"It's alright…" He said softly, already regretting snapping at her.

"Well, a few miles ahead there is an enchantment that makes you forget why you came. Papa doesn't like intruders." She added the last part at Sesshoumaru's exasperated expression.

"Well, how do I fight off that one?" Sesshoumaru asked, taking up his pace and moved forward again with Akina trailing behind him.

"You just have to focus on following me until you pass the barrier." She said.

Only a few minutes later they hit the barrier and Sesshoumaru's strong mind was not to be deterred from his mission and he crossed the barrier with no outward problem.

"Alright, only one more shield. This one I'll take care of. It's an illusion. It makes you see something that you really desire and it leads you away from the Valley. I can dispel it though, so don't worry about it." She yelled over her shoulder as she sped up and passed him, leaving the young demon a few feet behind her. He saw as a soft violet glow that only slightly outlined her form. He never even felt them pass the barrier when Akina finally stopped. The feeble glow around her form faded and Sesshoumaru came to a slow stop beside her. She smiled.

"Almost there. We can walk from here."

He nodded.

"That's good. Let's go then."

As they walked, Sesshoumaru found himself thinking. He had never seen such a beautiful forest. The trees were tall and perfect and a thin layer of mist seemed to grow thicker as they went farther in and another sense of peacefulness came over Sesshoumaru, though this time he didn't fell sleepy, just peaceful and calm.

"You feel that?" Akin asked softly. He nodded his head; a gentle smile lit his face.

"That's unicorn magic. So peaceful isn't it?"

"Yeah." Sesshoumaru breathed. He looked over and suddenly his eyes widened. A few yards over was a beautiful creature, so mystical against the backdrop of soft green forest, and white mist. The unicorn stood alert, its ears swiveling on its head and its eyes locked on them. It still had a slight silver sheen to its coat and the mane was gently tinted gold though its hooves were a rich color.

When unicorns were young, they all had shining silver coats and a deep golden mane along with pure gold colored hooves. As unicorns aged, they lost their coloring until they were pure white, which indicated a fully grown unicorn. The golden color in their hooves was the last to go, if you saw a unicorn that was completely white, it was very old and wise.

The one in front of them now was not young, yet not an adult either. Akina smiled and waved pleasantly.

"Good evening, Kumi-kun, you got patrol duty today, huh?" She laughed gently as the unicorn named Kumi gave her his reply via telepathy. "Well, we should be going; I wanted to talk with Mama and Papa about something." She stroked her friend's mane gently before taking Sesshoumaru's hand and leading him through the forest.

"Who was that?" He asked softly, feeling as though he shouldn't talk loudly in a peaceful place like he was in.

"That was Kumi. He's very quiet, but so sweet. He mostly helps out in the valley's palace, but he sometimes gets stuck on patrol, but he doesn't like being out alone, he likes company." She said, smiling as she spoke.

"Hm. He's older isn't he?"

"Yes, he's very much older than me, but he's one of my friends."

They walked only a few minutes more until there was some sort of clearing ahead, but Sesshoumaru couldn't see beyond it for a bright pure light was shining through the trees, obscuring his view.

"Ah!" She stopped suddenly and turned to him, smiling, "Welcome, Sesshoumaru, to the Unicorn Valley!"

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**A/N: Now to see Akina's family! Akina is a very important OC in my stories so these chapters are important to development and whatnot. Little cliffy here lol I used to be famous for leaving cliffhangers :p well not really famous. At all. More like despised. Tomato tomahto lol**

**Anyway, I think unicorns are just as much likely to be in feudal japan as demons and preistesses. They were in Japanese folklore, weren't they? *looks around* weren't they? I don't really know but hell, it's my story lol**

**So! please continue and thanks for reading!**

**JA NE!**


	6. The Unicorn Valley

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER SIX-:-:-:-:-

"Welcome, Sesshoumaru, to the Unicorn Valley!" She grinned and pushed him gently through the blinding veil of white light. He shut his eyes tightly until the light passed and he slowly opened them, gasping.

It was a breathtaking view from the top of their hill. He could see almost everything. The whole valley stretched farther than Sesshoumaru could see, winding between heavan-scraping mountains, all blanketed in a pure white mist. He could see Unicorns trotting calmly through the mist, drinking from sparkling streams and lying on the soft green grass and young foals galloping with their friends, dancing on light hooves through the veil of white. Their grace was unbelievable. He had to reach out and touch the nearest tree just to make sure everything was real.

"It's…it's amazing, Akina." He took an oblivious step into the valley but as soon as he did, almost every unicorn in the valley lifted its head and stared directly at him. He stopped in his tracks and turned to Akina. "What happened?" He whispered through his teeth.

"Don't worry. It's just that everybody in the valley is so close, when an outsider comes, it's kind of rare. They just don't know you, but like I said, don't worry about…" she trailed off as a unicorn came up to them slowly, yet purposefully. It stopped in front of them and pressed a thought into Akina's mind.

"_Welcome back, Akina-sama. Is this the young Sesshoumaru-sama?"_ The gentle voice of the male unicorn sounded in her head and she nodded. "_Return to your true form and I'll take you to the palace to see your parents."_

Akina nodded again and turned to Sesshoumaru.

"He'll take us to the palace, but we should transform. Nobody really stays in human figure in the valley; it's a form of respect to the elders." She whispered to him. She started her own transformation as Sesshoumaru did the same and the older unicorn began leading them down into the valley.

Next to the slender, unbelievably graceful unicorns, Sesshoumaru felt large and clumsy, but he held his head high. As they entered the valley, going lower into the gently sloping hills, they passed unicorns lying in the grass with their gold and silver foals, their heads following them as they passed.

To Sesshoumaru everything seemed so silent, but actually it was alive with voices. Young foals jaunted and jeered at others playfully, adults spoke softly as they watched their young play and males stood guard in pairs over their mates, talking with friends and family. No one was alone, everyone knew everyone else. It all seemed so friendly, so tightly knit, yet Sesshoumaru felt he didn't belong. No matter how beautiful it was here, he still yearned for his own castle.

The bounce to Akina's step also came out in her unicorn form and she trotted along happily after the unicorn with a white coat and golden hooves that led the way. As they covered ground, the unicorns became more numerous until everywhere you looked you could see groups of the pure creatures.

They continued on for about twenty minutes until the palace was finally in their view. They came upon it slowly and when they were in front of the wide open doors of the entrance hall. The palace was all one level, there were no stairs because they would be more of an inconvenience to them. Inside, the floors were all white marble and the walls were the same. They only just walked into the palace when their lead stopped them and spoke to Akina.

"_This is as far as I will take you. I trust you know how to find the Lord and Lady."_

"_Yes, thank you very much." _

Sesshoumaru watched as the unicorn walked off, and then he turned to Akina.

"_I can lead us to my parents. That unicorn is named Tali; he's one of the caretakers. Daddy always tells them to escort me around even though I really don't need them to. C'mon, my parents' chamber is this way._"

"Why don't any of them talk to me?" Sesshoumaru asked in soft growls and barks, Akina pressed the answer into his mind.

"_Like I said, everyone in the valley is very close. They know who you are; they just don't know you personally."_

"Well, they're not making an effort to try."

"_You should be the one making the effort, that's common courtesy in our valley._"

"What? I didn't know that! Do they think I'm rude? I just thought that since I couldn't communicate like you that…"

"_Oh, Sesshoumaru, don't worry! Just let them get to know you; they'll love you, I promise. Don't worry about the way you communicate, everyone knows you can't transfer thoughts like we can and that's perfectly fine, alright?_"

"Alright…"

"_Here we are!"_

In the palace, there were no doors. Instead they had heavy white tapestries that were split down the middle. Akina nudged aside a flap and entered the room and Sesshoumaru followed. They stepped into a wide room that looked as if they had just walked right back outside. The ground was covered in the same soft green grass and a slight mist evenly hung over it. It looked exactly like outside except that there were walls. Akina looked around then went through the lone door that was to their left. She stopped in front of it and transformed back into a human girl.

"I know they're here, but they would only be in this office if they were in human form…" Akina said quietly. Sesshoumaru transformed also and stood beside her, stretching his arms. She turned the handle and pushed open the door.

"Mama? Papa?" She peered inside and opened the door fully.

"Akina, we heard you were coming." Her mother, Lady of the North stood from her chair and opened her arms as Akina ran to her and hugged her. She was the ultimate beauty. Her gentle eyes and a sweet face, and slender body made her look fragile and her belly protruded noticeably; though Sesshoumaru knew she was an extremely powerful being. She wore a yukata of crème and pale green coloring that matched her light emerald eyes and on her forehead was the mark of all unicorns, a pale violet circle where their horn would be in their true forms. Her hair was long, silky and pure white as the snow. Around her neck was a golden chain with a small pendant of a unicorn on it.

"We thought it would be easier for Prince Sesshoumaru if we met in human form." This time her father spoke. He was tall and strong looking, slender yet steady and sturdy – well balanced. He had broad shoulders, a strong neck and large hands. His short, wavy white hair fell around his young face and he had kind, violet eyes that Akina had inherited. He also wore a gold chain around his neck that was identical to his mate's.

"I am Lady Kimi and this is my mate, Lord Konatsu." She knelt in front of Sesshoumaru kindly to be at eye-level and bent her head in a small bow. Sesshoumaru blushed and bent quickly at his waist.

"It's an honor to meet you!" He stammered out, then stood up straight.

"Mama…Papa, I was coming here to ask you for a favor actually." Akina started off, looking up at her fair mother then her stunning father.

"What is it Kiki?" Lady Kimi asked, a small smile twitching her lips.

"Mo-om! Don't call me that!" Akina hissed urgently, blushing hotly. Sesshoumaru snickered under his breath and Lord Konatsu winked at him good-naturedly.

"Sorry, sweetie. What was it that you wanted to ask?" Her mother brushed some strands of deep golden hair from her flustered face and smiled down at her. Akina shook off her annoyance with a huff and turned to her father instead, now directing her request mostly to him.

"Papa, can I stay at the Western Castle for a while?" Asked Akina without hesitation, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. Lord Konatsu seemed taken aback at her question.

"Stay at the Western Castle?" He repeated slowly, "For how long? Do you mean a permanent residence?" He looked at her intently now, his face a bit more serious and her mother's was too.

"Hm…maybe six or seven centuries…but I would come and visit often!" She added the last part as a way of swaying her parents' decision.

"I don't know about this, Akina." Her mother said, "These lands are to be yours some day, you should be here to learn how things are done."

"Oh, but Mama, that's so far away! I want to stay with Sesshoumaru in the West for a while!" She pleaded, switching her gaze between her two parents.

"You are also going to be a big sister soon; you have to be here when your little brother is born. And what about your friends here in the valley?" Her father asked sternly.

"I will be here for Koemi's birth, but that won't be for many months, and I said I would visit often." The young unicorn replied insistently. Her mother sighed and looked at her daughter carefully.

"We will have to think on this a bit longer, this is a big decision to suddenly drop on us, Akina, we can't send you off just like that. Did Lord Inutaishou and Lady Seisha say it was fine?" Asked Lady Kimi, her eyes trailing to Sesshoumaru. The young dog demon nodded.

"Yes, they said it was fine."

"Alright. We will think about this."

Akina drew in a breath to press further, but Sesshoumaru put a hand on her shoulder and spoke to her parents.

"Thank you." He said.

Lady Kimi nodded and Lord Konatsu replied, "We will have an answer for you tomorrow. For now, why don't you show Sesshoumaru around the palace or the valley, Akina?" He suggested, a smile now returning to his lips.

"Yes, Papa." She said sullenly, and turned to the door. Sesshoumaru bowed, and closed it behind him. In the office, Kimi and Konatsu remained silent for a few seconds before Konatsu spoke.

"This might not be a bad idea." He said carefully, judging his mate's reactions. "This would make the Western Lands a permanent ally." He watched as Kimi looked up from where she was studying her hands in her lap...

"That is all very good, but…giving them out daughter? Future lady of the north? Future sister?" Her wide eyes searched her mate. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"We are not giving our daughter to anyone. Akina will be our beautiful girl until death takes our last breaths." He told her gallantly, standing in front of her and taking her hands in his. His charming smile gleamed at her. "And not to mention, Kimi dear, that Akina seems to really like the Western Prince. In them I see the beginnings of a lifelong friendship." He crouched in front of her where she sat on her chair and saw that she was smiling slightly now too. Konatsu continued, seeing an opening. "I can tell this is the right choice, believe me. And like she said, she will be here for her little brother's birth and will continue to visit often, so what do you think, Kimi? If you should say no, then Akina will remain in the valley of course, but she really has her heart set on this." He looked into her emerald eyes and awaited her answer. She smiled.

"You needn't have gone through such elaborations…" she laughed as hope sparkled in his eyes, "I was not so completely opposed to the idea to begin with. I could tell this is something that Akina wanted and I would not deny her happiness." Kimi stroked her fingers down Konatsu's cheek, "You are such a push-over." She laughed as Konatsu shrugged and chuckled ruefully.

"What can I say? I'm wrapped around her finger!" They both laughed together, their sound filling the room. Happiness radiated from the couple and the room was overflowing with a pure sense of bliss. Kimi lifted Konatsu's face and kissed him.

"Let's tell them of our decision tomorrow. For now Prince Sesshoumaru can get to know our Valley." Kimi said, motioning for Konatsu to stand and then she stood herself. They walked out of the office, transforming into their unicorn forms. They both had snow white coats and ever so slight gold dusted into their manes and their hooves were still golden, if fading. Konatsu was more built than Kimi, and the only other thing that broke their pure color was their eyes and the golden chain that was long enough to loosely circle their necks in their true forms. They walked over the soft grass of their inside meadow contently.

oOo

Akina shut the door to her parents' indoor field and immediately turned and scuffed her foot at the ground grumpily.

"What is it?" Sesshoumaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "They said they were thinking about it, isn't that good enough? Don't be spoiled."

"Oh, I know." She sighed, unfolding her crossed arms.

"Good, then let's go. Is it alright if we stay in human form for now?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess." She replied, the natural bounce slowly returning to her tone.

"C'mon, cheer up! Show me the palace, where is your room?"

"It's this way." She gave him a trying smile and led him through the halls.

oOo

The next morning came quickly, the golden sunrise found Akina and Sesshoumaru outside, walking through the misty valley. They had stayed outside all night. Akina showed him all her hiding places and secret nooks and places that she thought were special. When the sunlight hit them they were walking along the sparkling stream that ran through the valley. When the golden rays of sun hit the calm mist blanketing the hills, it bathed everything in a brilliant ethereal glow.

"It's morning! Let's go see if they said yes." Sesshoumaru said, looking at the sunrise a bit longer before sending Akina an excited look. Akina nodded with a wide grin.

"Yeah, hurry!" She laughed and took his hand with both of hers, pulling him a few step before turning, letting go with one and then the other, running back to the palace with him in tow. She looked back then transformed in mid-sprint, galloping ahead. Sesshoumaru did the same and they neared the far-off white palace in a matter of seconds. They flew past the open doors and continued in a full out run until they stopped abruptly before the curtains of Akina's parents' private field. They changed back to human form and Akina pushed aside the cloth, looked around, then went for the side office and pushed open that door also.

"Mama, Papa, did you decide?"

Kimi and Konatsu looked up from a scroll that was unrolled across their research table.

"Yes, Ki—" At a shooting glare, she corrected herself, "Yes, Akina."

"Well?" She said excitedly. Konatsu stood and smiled.

"We've decided to let you go, Kiki." He opened his arms to the hug he knew was coming. Akina dove into his arms. She was so happy she didn't even comment about the pet name. She broke away from her father to give her mother a gentler embrace and then turned to Sesshoumaru.

"Isn't this great? Now we can play together all the time!"

"Thank you, Lord Konatsu, Lady Kimi!" Sesshoumaru said, grinning and bowing to the Lord and Lady.

"You are very welcome. Have fun! You should get going; Lady Seisha and Lord Inutaishou will get worried." Kimi said kindly.

"Yes, Mama! I'll be back for Koemi! See you later!"

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**A/N: Cute, dontcha think? I just love Kimi and Konatsu. I've notice there an alliteration thing goin on and I didn't even think about it before lol. Anyway, drop me a review and thanks for readinig!**

**JA NE!**


	7. The Birth

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER SEVEN-:-:-:-:

A few months had passed since Akina was granted to stay in the western lands. Both young friends looked slightly older than before.

In a demon's-or in Akina's case-a being of light's young age, many extraordinary growth spurts take place. A few months after birth, the baby grows extremely fast and at about five months old, the baby demon looks like a human pre-teen and retains that form for about twenty to twenty five years, even though their minds continue to collect knowledge much faster than a human. After that, they begin another growth spurt that pulls them into adolescence and then they grow slowly until they look like a human nineteen or twenty year old. After that, they stop completely until late adulthood or old age sets in and they will possess those traits, but that wouldn't be for many a century.

Akina and Sesshoumaru were growing into their teen-looking years. Sesshoumaru was a bit taller now. He went from around four feet and six inches to five feet and four inches, and his shoulders were becoming wider. Akina was also taller, coming from four foot five to about five feet and her breasts and curves were slowly coming in.

Sesshoumaru was out on his first rounds of the Western Lands without his father, and Akina was with him. They were roaming the lands, making sure everything was accounted for, but at the moment they stopped at a small pond and were resting under the canopy cover, leaning back against the same tree.

"Hahaha! No way! Did Inutaishou-sama really say that I would be a good mate fore you? I don't believe that!" She laughed, shoving his shoulder playfully.

"I'm telling you, that's what he said!" He countered, retaliating from the shove and pushing her beck gently.

"When? I've been with you ever since we met, when would he have said that?" she asked skeptically. He scrunched up his face in thought.

"It was before you came, only moments before. I'm surprised you didn't hear him for yourself actually."

"No I didn't hear. Anyway, you can't be my mate! You're more like my brother!" She said decisively.

"Brother?" He asked, slightly surprised. "Is that so? Then that would make you my sister."

"I guess so." She said, laughing as she stood and pulled him to his feet also. "C'mon brother, we have to keep going."

"Oh, alright, alright. But talking about brothers, when are you going back to the Northern Lands?"

"Hmm, well Mama should be well along by now and Koemi will probably come in the next month, I think I'll leave in a few days. I want to help Papa; he must be running his last thread by now." She chuckled at the thought of her worn out father from all her mother's needs.

"Alright, another trip!" Sesshoumaru grinned at her jokingly.

"You're coming?" She asked, turning sharply, her own smile beaming.

"Of course! He's my brother too if you're my sister."

"Oh, that's right!" She exclaimed, putting a finger to her chin, and then grinned wider. "You'll have to help with Mama then, too!"

He chuckled. "I will if she needs me."

oOo

They finished the rounds in the next day and made it back for nightfall where Inutaishou met him at the Entrance Hall.

"How did it go? I take it everything is in order." He circled an arm around his son's shoulder and the other around Akina's she smiled, looking embarrassed by his open acceptance of her as a daughter-figure.

"Yes, Otousan, everything was fine." Sesshoumaru said, brushing hair from his face.

"Good, good."

"One more thing, Otousan…"

"What is it?"

"Akina and I want to go back to the Northern Lands tomorrow for her little brother's birth, is that okay?"

"Sure, son. Good thing you finished your rounds just in time!" His sparkling, naturally happy eyes went from Sesshoumaru to Akina.

"I'll go tell Okaasan then." He unhooked his father's arm from around his shoulder and walked quickly, grasping Akina's hand and pulling her along with him.

"Thank you, Inutaishou-sama!" She called over her shoulder.

They found Seisha in her private study, resting in her chair, leaning back with a book in her lap.

"Okaasan, Akina and I want to go back to the Northern Lands."

"Oh, right. For Akina's brother?" Seisha asked, closing the book and setting it next to her on a side table.

"Hai."

"Alright, you two. When are you leaving?" She looked between the two of them and Sesshoumaru answered her again.

"Tomorrow morning. We want to help Lady Kimi."

"Be safe and give Kimi my well-wishes. Do you know what your parents will name the baby, Akina?" Seisha asked kindly.

"Koemi I hope!" Akina said happily.

oOo

The next day came and went quickly and they set off for the Northern Lands. A few days of traveling found Akina and Sesshoumaru just outside of the Northern Border. It was an uncharacteristically dry night now that the sun had set. The stars were appearing now to join the moon, and both small forms were laid out in the slightly damp, warm grass.

They eventually nodded off for about an hour before they returned to their traveling, taking advantage of the cool night and came upon the unicorn valley by the next day, both tired.

As they went through the valley, in human form, Sesshoumaru smiled and wave and tried to be pleasant. The reaction he got was amazingly responsive.

Older unicorns nuzzled him with their noses and young foals pranced and followed the two of them. From deep gold and silver beauties to lighter foals, the younger one's natural magic was not yet completely controlled, and left patches of flowers in the wake of their light skipping steps.

When they got to the palace, the carefree foals parted with them and laid down to rest at the base of the light-bathed palace, watching golden and pink butterflies flitter around their heads. Sesshoumaru watched the beautiful creatures fondly until they stepped into the castle and their calm minds were shaken as if they were standing inside a large bell as it rang.

A roar type scream pealed through the halls.

Akina started in alarm then cried, "Mama!"

She suddenly disappeared from beside Sesshoumaru and it took him a few milliseconds to realize that she had taken off running and soon followed.

She flung aside the door, jumping when the violent tinkle of breaking fine china filled the room. Sesshoumaru came in behind her and couldn't resist laughing from relief and mirth.

"I SAID NEVER TO LET THE FOOD TOUCH!" Lady Kimi screamed at her mate. Lord Konatsu cringed as she crashed another plate against the wall.

"Kimi, please! Be reasonable! I didn't see!" He wailed apologetically to his enraged, pregnant mate. Lord Konatsu was not a wimp by any means, but when faced with a demoness with child, he had enough sense to back down.

Akina hid her laughter and moved forward to stop her mother's rampage.

"Mama, please calm down." She took her mother's hand and pulled her down to sit in a chair.

"Oh, Akina! You're here! You didn't tell us you would be coming back so soon!" She said happily, all pretense of anger evaporated as she spied her daughter with joy.

"Yes, I'm here Mama. How are you feeling?" Akina asked, smiling at her mother as Konatsu emerged from behind his desk wearily, inwardly cheering his daughter for saving his hind.

"Oh, I'm wonderful honey! A little hungry…" Here she shot a glare at Konatsu. "…But other than that, I'm just wonderful." The woman's emerald eyes swung to Sesshoumaru and she smiled and waved at him, he returned the gesture, although a bit nervously.

"That's great, Mama. By the way, we are naming my brother Koemi, right? I like that name." Akina said, drawing back her mother's attention.

"Yes, my dearest, we thought about it and your brother's name will be Koemi." Her daughter's hand slipped out of hers as the young unicorn swung around and grinned at Sesshoumaru.

"Did you hear that? My brother's name is going to be Koemi!" She said excitedly, as if he was not five feet from her. He smiled and nodded just the same, not wanted to bring down her mood. "Oh, Sesshie-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Could you bring Mama some food please?" She turned back to her mother and missed the quick horrified expression that crossed his face. He didn't want to mess up the order and get yelled at like Lord Konatsu. At his hesitance Konatsu stood and smiled reassuringly at him.

"Don't worry, I'll help you." He said, swiftly escorting the young dog demon from the room by his shoulders, leaving Akina and Kimi. This gesture didn't ease Sesshoumaru's mind, as Konatsu was the one getting yelled at in the first place, but he accepted it all the same.

"Thank you, sir." Sesshoumaru said mechanically, letting himself be steered out into the corridors and through the palace, after a few seconds the unicorn lord let out a relieved low whistle and spoke.

"It sure was a good thing that you two came back; it was just at the right moment…I thought Kimi really had it in for me this time around." He laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Is it like that often?" Sesshoumaru asked, the last of his tension evaporating.

"No, not really. But she's been getting worse lately, she's never yelled at me before about her food, and I swear that she's never said a word about it touching." He mumbled out the last part disdainfully, this time rubbing a spot on the back of his head with a grimace…apparently one of the plates had found its mark.

"Well, no matter, I'll get it right this time, I promised to wait on her hand and foot." He told Sesshoumaru, though to the young inu youkai it sounded just a bit regretful. He laughed quietly at this and Konatsu joined him. "I guess I just didn't think it could be so bad."

They went quickly to retrieve food for Kimi, a wide array of fruits and other healthy items were organized around her plate just so, along with a meticulous inspection afterwards to ensure satisfaction.

They carried the plate back to the room and gave it to Kimi who accepted it. Afterwards, they retired to their rooms, as it was quite late in the night.

The next few days passed smoothly until about a month had flown by and Kimi was expected to be in labor any day.

Oddly enough, Konatsu seemed more nerve-wrought about it than the actually pregnant unicorn. He dashed about the castle, making sure Kimi got everything she could possibly need and then some. He constantly was at her side and if he wasn't, then Akina or Sesshoumaru were.

Finally when she felt her first contraction, it was night and Akina and Sesshoumaru were with her. Sesshoumaru ran to get Konatsu who sprinted in, carrying her to the unicorn that had earlier been appointed the midwife.

The birth was not easy, and Kimi's screams were heard all through the valley for sure. She was heard cursing her mate for getting her pregnant and also the whole living world for no apparent reason. But when it was done, and the baby was handed to her in its swath of gentle blue blankets, the look on her face was so peaceful it was impossible to believe she had been screeching obscenities just moments before.

The baby had sky blue eyes and tufts of deep golden hair. It was so small and pure. As it waved its tiny arm in the air and caught hold of Konatsu's finger, tears brimmed in his eyes. Kimi kissed the baby's forehead and whispered, "Koemi, my precious…" Tears drifted over her lashes and traced down her cheeks.

Akina looked over her mother's shoulder, her violet eyes sparkling as she smiled at her new baby brother, Koemi, and he smiled back, gurgling merrily. The happiness radiated from the four beings and washed over the valley.

Outside, in the dark of the night, a rainbow glittered in the sky, not needing light to refract its colors, only the bliss of unicorns. Others in the valley raised their head and sent their own joy into the heavens above. Young colts stood near their parents, whinnying softly.

Sesshoumaru, standing beside Akina was caught up in a giant hug as the young unicorn turned and released all her pent up happiness on him, and he embraced her back. She had tears forming, but they only glistened in her eyes.

"Congratulations." He whispered gently in her ear.

…

Over the next months, Koemi grew so incredibly fast that Kimi had given up dressing him and let him teeter around in nothing but a diaper. When demons are born, they are introduced to the world alert and ready to learn, retaining everything they experience since their birth.

At two weeks old, Koemi looked and acted like six month old human baby; he was even able to walk and was starting to speak. Only small words and phrases though.

Sesshoumaru and Akina were helping to take care of him and Koemi even regarded the dog demon as a sibling.

As the months wore on, Sesshoumaru was sure that his parents would want him back soon.

"Ne, Akina…When do you think we will go back to the west?" He asked one day while watching over Koemi feeding himself.

"Actually I was thinking that I could stay here for a while, it'll be important for me to be here with Koemi." She turned to him in her chair as they were sitting in the wide expanse of the dining hall and their words carried all the way across the room. Sesshoumaru had been expecting this. He nodded.

"Yes, I thought so. I hate to say this, but I have to go back, you know…mother and father will be worried and all."

"Okay, when are you leaving?"

"Next week maybe."

"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll come back in a few years."

"So soon? I thought you would have liked to see Koemi grow up a bit more before you leave." He searched her eyes and she smiled.

"I'll come back here often, and maybe we can bring Koemi to your castle when he's older! That would be fun, right?"

"Yeah!"

The week passed and Akina, Sesshoumaru, Konatsu, and Kimi holding Koemi were standing at the outer limits of the Unicorn Valley.

"Goodbye, Lord Konatsu, Lady Kimi!" Sesshoumaru said. They nodded warmly. "Bye Akina, see you." He hugged her, then turned to Koemi and tickled the young, almost toddler sized unicorn under his chin and Koemi opened his arms for a hug which Sesshoumaru gave him.

"Bye, bye Oniisan!"

With that the inu youkai bounded off, back to his home where he was greeted with the open arms of his parents.

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**A/N: nice little chapter here, still elaborating on Akina. Next chapter we get into some issues with Sesshoumaru. Now the fun begins ^_^**

**Thanks for reading and please continue!**

**JA NE!**


	8. Damon Form: The Rite Part 1

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER EIGHT-:-:-:-:-

When Sesshoumaru returned to the west, his life also returned to normal. He had his rigorous battle and dueling lessons with his father and sometimes his mother. He also had arithmetic, science, logic, theology, astrology, mythology, and philosophy lessons along with other classes that he needed to master.

By the time many decades had passed Sesshoumaru looked like a young fifteen year old human. His face was a bit more mature and he had inherited his piercing eyes from his grandfather, according to Inutaishou. He also got even taller, now standing five foot eight and his shoulders were strong and broadened, sloping down to his slimmed hips. His hair was longer too, almost reaching his hips. Plus, he was considerably stronger.

At the moment, he was asleep in his bed, the sky outside of his open balcony was dark purple, only faintly lighted, yet still blanketed in darkness. In the bed, enclosed in red silk hangings, was Prince Sesshoumaru, heir of the west.

His long slim body was tangled in a mass of warm blankets as winter had fallen a few months earlier. His silver-white hair was fanned out handsomely, luminous in the dark of early morning.

He turned his head towards the balcony and his stunning golden eyes slowly opened and surveyed the sky. He retracted all four limbs from his mess of blankets and rose with the sun like any other day. Though unknown to him, this day was very important. The young dog demon was all of one century old on this very day.

He rose from the bed, his body already fully alert and strode languidly to the balcony, cold wind nipped at his chest and rippled his red silk pants as he watched the sun paint the sky an impressive array of colors, a smile lighting his face. He turned from the balcony and dressed for the day, exiting and going out into the corridors.

His clear golden eyes scoped the corridors and saw what he was looking for. A servant rounded the corner and stopped in front of the prince and bowed.

"Good morning Sesshoumaru-sama, do you need something?"

"Yes, do you know where my parents are?" He asked, looking over the familiar servant.

"Yes, my prince, Lady Seisha and Lord Inutaishou are out on an errand." Sesshoumaru was visibly disappointed, after all, in demon years, today was his first birthday.

"Gone? Are you sure?" He asked, his shoulders slumped a little bit.

"Yes, Prince Sesshoumaru, I saw them off myself." The servant replied coolly.

"Oh. Did they say where they were going?" At this question, Sesshoumaru could see some signs of nervousness.

"Ah, well, they ordered me not to reveal the details of their trip…" He averted his eyes.

"Did they now?" A small smirk crossed his lips.

"Y-yes, my prince." He replied, a small squeak developing in his tone.

"That will be all." Sesshoumaru said absently, excusing the servant with a wave of his hand. The servant turned tail and strode away quickly.

Sesshoumaru went down to the dining hall, each hand in the opposite sleeve to fend off the nippy chill that had crept into the castle during the night and stole the warmth from the normally temperate halls.

He sauntered most of the day away in the gardens and around the court yards until finally he was standing under the cherry trees. At this season when summer turned to winter, the beautiful bright pink blossoms fell off the tree with every gentle gust of wind.

He sat underneath it, his eyes following the petals' slow-motion decent from their arrangements on the branch. His fangs glinted as a soft smile graced his lips he. He suddenly stood and watched as two small figures in the distance got closer until his parents were standing in front of him, hair blown by the sakura blossom-laced wind.

"Mother…Father…" Sesshoumaru murmured, suddenly at a loss of words at his parent's smiling faces.

"Happy first birthday, son." Inutaishou said exuberantly, throwing his arms around his son. Sesshoumaru returned the embrace half-heartedly, knowing something was up with them. He looked over his father's shoulder into his mother's eyes. She looked pensive for a moment before he caught her crystal blue eyes and she suddenly smiled again. That action intrigued him, prompting him to push his father from him gently.

"What's going on? Something's not right, I can tell." He said. Seisha and Inutaishou exchanged glances before the dog demon lord smiled wider.

"Ah, my son! Perceptive as always!"

"Well?" The young demon asked eagerly.

"Patience, patience, son! Your gift will be great, but requires patience and steady strength to release its power."

"Power? What is the gif—" Inutaishou cut him off with a laugh and slung his arm around Sesshoumaru's shoulders.

"It will take many centuries to complete, but it will be wonderful…" Continued the lord as if he hadn't heard his son.

"What is it? What are you talking about?"

Seisha took the prince's shoulder and pulled him back, away from Inutaishou and held him in front of her.

"The Damon Form, honey. That's what he is going on about."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened and turned back to his father. He had never seen the form but had heard his father speak about it before. It was incredibly strong and not used unless there was a life or death situation at hand.

"Really? Are you serious?"

"Don't be so happy just yet. Acquiring the Damon Form is quite painful." Inutaishou interjected.

"Painful? I thought you said I would only need patience and steady strength."

"For me to unlock your ability your body must undergo an extreme situation and after, you will be condemned to bed rest for at least a month."

"A month? That's serious!" The young demon looked appalled at the recovery time, thinking of the kind of injury that he would have to endure.

"Yes, and even after it, you will not have the form to use at your will just yet. It will be very hard to master it, but you must have a good grip before you transform or the beast's blood lust will take over." Inutaishou said gravely.

"I will work hard for it, father." Solemnly, Sesshoumaru leveled his gaze with his father. The daiyoukai nodded. Seisha stood beside the two of them, nervousness was easily readable in her cerulean eyes, but also pride.

"Tonight I will perform the rite. Get yourself ready until then."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic!" Seisha said, trying to brighten the mood with her reassuring smile. "You'll be perfectly fine, Sesshoumaru." She kissed his cheek and began walking away, Inutaishou followed, giving his son a final pat on his back.

Sesshoumaru was left with his thoughts under the cherry tree. He just stood there for a few moments, thinking things over.

What did he mean when he said 'get ready'? What in the world could he possibly do to get ready for pain as bad as had been described to him? What was there to do? He knew his father spoke flippantly a majority of the time, but he had been serious when he said to get ready, so there must have been something that was there to do. The only thing he could think of was to go to the library, so that's what he did.

He immediately jumped onto a balcony that he knew was close to the main library and went to work. By the time the end of the day rolled around, he had educated himself about the Damon Form. It was a magnificent form, standing many hundreds of feet tall, and able to maneuver on its hind legs and use a sword. It had armor that looked like his father's, which consisted of a chest plate, shin plates, shoulder spikes, and lower arm protectors. It had incredible strength and was surprisingly agile and quick for a beast its size. (It is the form that we see Inutaishou in at his gravesite.)

He was just about to flip open another tome when the door calmly opened, and his father and mother came into the room.

"Sesshoumaru," his father called softly, not needing to say anything else. Sesshoumaru felt immensely uneasy, mostly because a storm had blown in and howling winds pushed at the sides of the castle.

Sesshoumaru, apprehensive, stood from his chair behind his wall of many books and followed his father as he turned and led him and Seisha for at least twenty minutes in silence through the halls and corridors.

The young dog demon was long past being able to gauge where he was and just followed. He was deep in his thoughts when Seisha in front of him stopped suddenly. He managed to halt just before he ran into her.

"This is a special room, Sesshoumaru; this is where it must happen". As they entered the room Sesshoumaru took in his surroundings. It was a large, bare room that had absolutely nothing in it besides damp stone walls (which indicated that they were somewhere in the dungeons) and a lone black circle about twenty feet wide that looked as if it had been scorched into the stone floor.

"This rite is usually done outside…" Inutaishou continued, looking around the stone room with distaste. "…but because of the storm, it must be done in this room. That is a protective circle that will not let any youki out-if we were outside of the circle, the castle would crumble at best." He moved into the circle and looked at his son, beckoning with his eyes.

Sesshoumaru gulped and was nudged gently towards the circle by his mother and took the last few steps himself. The very second he stepped into the circle a fierce, bright light ran up in a column around them, showing that the guard had been activated.

Seisha stood outside of the circle anxiously as her mate stepped up to Sesshoumaru and spoke. The shield stopped her from hearing what they said, but she read his lips.

Inside the circled, Sesshoumaru stood tall, mentally preparing himself for the pain as much as he could. Inutaishou stepped closer to his son.

"Are you ready?" He asked, though he knew they would continue even if Sesshoumaru said no. the young demon knew this and nodded. Inutaishou raised his hands and rested them on his son's shoulder. Sesshoumaru braced for whatever was coming.

Abruptly, his father's hands tightened painfully on his shoulders. He whimpered a halfway suppressed yelp of surprise. Inutaishou did not hear it though as he focused on bringing out his power. The daiyoukai's ki sky rocketed, filling the shield so strongly that Seisha saw it visibly buckle under the pressure. The great dog demon's face was contorted and his teeth were clenched as his energy force roared stronger.

This had to be kept up for many long minutes and by the time ten had snailed by, Sesshoumaru was panting heavily and his legs were quaking under the effort to remain standing under the immense pressure of his father's ki raging inside the barrier. He had never felt such power overwhelming him. His own hands were clenched on his father's forearms, attempting to ground himself in the whirlwind.

He continued to try and stay strong, but when the pressure was just too much and he was about to fall from exhaustion, one of Inutaishou's claws dug unmercifully into his son's shoulder.

The sharp pain made Sesshoumaru cry out desperately and forget the unbearable pressure. His father's roaring ki was beginning to burn his skin and rip his clothes, patches of blistered and shredded skin alighted on his pale skin. Suddenly the young demon's eyes turned red. His body's natural reaction to protect itself was to transform, even subconsciously. Sesshoumaru's jaws began to lengthen and his own ki mixed brutally with his father's. Sesshoumaru's yellow aura of power attempted to fight against Inutaishou's raging red aura.

As the energies clashed, and Inutaishou's own eyes bled red, he took one of his hands from Sesshoumaru's shoulder, dislodging them from the flesh. Blood slung off of his claws before he roared and slid back a leg to brace himself, and then shoved his claws into his son's torso between his chest and stomach, sinking into him.

Sesshoumaru tossed his head back and side to side, vocalizing his pain thoroughly. Inutaishou grimaced, trying to keep his own transformation at bay along with his son's. He pushed his claws deeper and twisted them, actually tearing through intercostal muscle as well as his right lung until he could literally hold onto his son's ribcage. Sesshoumaru's following roar of pain was accompanied by a spray of blood. At this point, Inutaishou's arms and chest were bloodied anywhere Sesshoumaru could reach.

Gritting his teeth, the taiyoukai took away the hand still remaining on Sesshoumaru's shoulder and blood stained fingers reached around and roughly dug into five specific points between his shoulder blade and upper spine, right behind his violently pumping heart.

The location of each precisely placed claw was a pressure point; there were ten pressure points that had to be completely destroyed to be able for Sesshoumaru to even begin thinking about attempting the Damon Form.

Sesshoumaru was completely lost in pain, his blood felt like fire rushing through his rapidly beating heart as his father's ki mixed with his own, burning his skin, and his father's claws ripped at him mercilessly. His body was on overdrive, and his red pin-prick eyes rolled back into his skull as pain continued to explode through his mind and he felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out.

His limbs twisted and lurched and from the outside of the protective circle, Seisha looked at the scene, horrorstruck at the gruesomeness of it all. And even through the supposed impenetrable circle, she could clearly hear the din that managed to penetrate the shield, and feel the ki storming around the dungeon.

She heard her son crying out in pain and watched the heartbreaking, wrenching expression of pure anguish as it scarred across his angelic face.

She could see the blood running from his shoulders, his chest, and his back, staining his white haori as it steadily turned blacker and disintegrated with both of their aura's burning him.

She steeled herself to believe in her son and knew she could only pray for this monstrosity to be over soon. More tears leaked from her crystal-pool eyes as she thought of Inutaishou going through this when he was young and how he must feel for putting his son under such trauma that he already knew the terror of.

She watched with tears running at her two men, both of their hair flying wildly about them, and just prayed for it to be over soon.

Inside the circle, Sesshoumaru's mind was reeling as the seriousness of his condition began to become so extensively explosive that his mind couldn't even comprehend it. His cries lessened momentarily as a creeping numb feeling began to slowly inch through his body and he became close to passing out. Or death. He wasn't quite sure which.

This was what Inutaishou was waiting for.

He turned Sesshoumaru sideways so his son's shoulder was against his chest, though he still had his claws embedded in his son's flesh.

He gathered his power and, letting out another roar, added poison. His claws hissed as he emitted the toxins.

Sesshoumaru's low cries transformed into terrified, ear-shattering screams of complete anguish.

Seisha winced horribly as it filled the room and went farther, reaching every cranny of the castle. Her blood ran cold and the color drained from her cheeks. She fell to her knees, distress-wrought.

Sesshoumaru's fangs bared as his head flung back almost limply and his roars continued to reverberate through the room.

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**A/N: A unique rite of passage to be sure. This is important...it will be revisited in later stories. Thanks for reading and please continue.**

**JA NE**


	9. The Rite Part 2

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER NINE-:-:-:-:-

When Inutaishou secreted poison, Sesshoumaru's baser instincts swelled and his primal impulse came to the surface with such force that his yellow aura became laced with lightning. The electric blue energy ripped through the protective circle, shattering the barrier.

Seisha gasped and braced herself as everything rushed passed her.

Inutaishou smiled and used his own youki to compress Sesshoumaru's back into his body, and the daiyoukai gently unwedged his bloody claws from his son and caught the young demon as he fell dead unconscious in his arms.

Inutaishou was also considerably tired and covered in his own blood, but managed to drop gracefully to his knees. Sesshoumaru was still in his lap, his head resting on his knees. He wiped gently at his son's face, removing the blood that had trickled from his mouth, nose, and even his ears and corners of his eyes like tears.

Seisha rose numbly from the floor, her ears ringing from the former din as everything seemed to be suspended in an eerie quiet now that it was over.

"He did great. He held up much longer than I thought he would. Longer than I did, that's for sure." Said Inutaishou, exhaustion easily readable in his voice.

"I'll go put him in his rooms and notify the servants." Seisha said softly, picking up her son. His long legs dangled over her arms and his long bleeding torso bent limply against her chest as she lifted him.

He watched his mate carefully carry away their son and sighed. He sat back on the floor, leaning back and bracing himself on his arm.

He looked over at the circle in the center of the room. It was completely scorched and black; looking like an explosion had landed there. His smile grew wider. He remembered well the day long ago when he had to go through the same thing…though he was lucky enough not to have to do it inside.

Being in the protective circle concentrated their youki around them so on top of having his power released, Sesshoumaru also got burns many times passed than 3rd degree from having so much demonic energy in such a small, confined space. It must have been much worse for Sesshoumaru than it was for him. He felt their combined auras cutting and burning his own skin, though it healed very quickly for him.

He picked himself off the ground and sighed a deep breath, closing the door behind him as he went from the room. He knew Sesshoumaru would be out for a couple days at least before he woke up, and decided to go to his own chambers to clean up, rest, and then see his son when the sun rose.

Up in the ground level floors of the castle, Seisha carried her son up more stairs until she came to his room and nudged open the door, laying him in the bed. The young demon's breathing was shallow and the blood on his haori was drying and starting to smell, so Seisha changed his clothes.

Now he looked like her little angel. He was in a pure white under shirt, and white pants with his white and red blanket with the addition of his silver hair twisting around him beautifully.

She also wrapped his wounds. The shallow ones on both his shoulders would heal quickly enough, but the deeper ones in his chest and back would take much longer and the same went for with the burns on his skin where she could actually see underlying muscle tissue.

A few weeks passed before Sesshoumaru finally stirred from his coma-like state. It took that long for his body to partially purge his father's poison from his blood stream and wounds and now he could start healing, though with about the speed of a human. When he came back to consciousness, Seisha and Inutaishou were at the side of the bed.

Sesshoumaru tried to talk, but his throat felt like he had swallowed sand. Through his impossibly dry throat, he managed to rasp out, "h...hurts..." One of his hands trailed slowly to his chest where he felt the wounds through his bandages with a half groan, half whimper. Seisha dripped some water in his mouth until he could talk with less pain.

"How long?" He asked, opting not to explore his wounds any further. The first second he touched the ones on his chest, a shot of pain seared through his nerves. He replaced his hand by his side, also noting that his skin, though mostly healed, was tight and more than a little red, and very uncomfortable to move and stretch. His eyes returned to his parents, waiting for their reply, expecting to hear maybe a day or two.

"Three weeks, son." Inutaishou told him. Sesshoumaru's eyes went wide as saucers and he reflexively sat straight up.

"Wha—!" He began to exclaim before it transformed into a cry of pain, the sound tearing through his dry throat. The wounds on his back ripped open and his skin stretched ridiculously painfully.

Seisha gasped and immediately pushed him down into the pillows. He writhed uncontrollably in blinded pain and Inutaishou helped to turn him over and inspect the damage. The rips were fairly large, but a good thing was that he hadn't ripped his tightened skin. That would have hurt the most. Sesshoumaru's eyes were clenched shut and his breathing was shallow again, hisses of pain escaped his locked jaws.

"Be careful!" Seisha sighed, relieved that the damage was truly not as bad as it could have been, and quickly redressed the wounds. Sesshoumaru tried to respond but it felt like every heartbeat was costing him strength, so he remained silent and focused on breathing. Seisha brushed away hair that had fallen into his eyes and turned to Inutaishou.

"Let's leave him to rest…" Seisha said softly, turning her back to her son's bed. "Call in Miyuki-kun." She whispered as they slipped out of the door. Before they left, Inutaishou snapped his fingers.

Immediately at his side a handsome, tall, slender demon appeared. He had jet black hair that was long and straight, reaching his lower back. He had no fringe of bangs but a few strands of hair perpetually fell into his sparkling emerald eyes. His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, which made his dark framed jade eyes stand out even more. His face was soft, making him appear young and gentle, though he was in truth a formidable panther demon.

He wore a deep forest green haori that matched his eyes and black pants and fit his slender build nicely. They were not tied to his ankle at the bottom to create the 'puffy' look like how most others wore. Instead he wore them plainly and he also had bare feet. Miyuki has been Sesshoumaru's personal servant since birth and was well trusted to take care of him.

"Seisha-sama. Inutaishou-sama." Miyuki greeted, bowing as he said each name. Seisha tipped her head in acknowledgment before speaking.

"Watch over Sesshoumaru, Miyuki-kun. We will be back when the sky darkens; there are many things we must attend to this morning." She and Inutaishou swept away, the lady demoness patted the young servant on his shoulder warmly before they left.

Miyuki let out a low whistle and brushed some strands of errant dark hair from his eyes only to have it fall back a few moments later. It was required by servants to treat the lord and lady with utmost respect, and speak only when necessary. That was hard for Miyuki; he was very outspoken, and enjoyed talking. He turned quickly on his heel and entered the room behind him and closed the door.

He saw Sesshoumaru lying in the bed, his rasping breath didn't sound good at all, but at least he was awake. Miyuki moved to the bed, but then noticed that the balcony was closed and quickly veered for it. He knew that Sesshoumaru always preferred the balcony open.

He pushed open the doors and his emerald eyes sparkled at the new morning sun, this was sure to make Sesshoumaru cheer up a bit. Sunrise was his favorite part of the day. After securing the balcony doors in their open position he then went to the bed.

Sesshoumaru's brow was creased with a frown. Miyuki automatically smoothed it with his thumb in an almost fatherly action.

"Prince Sesshoumaru? Can you speak?" Miyuki whispered, about a foot from his face, looking at his charge with curious eyes, then smiled as the golden ones in front of him slowly opened.

"Miyuki…" Sesshoumaru said weakly, "How many times have I told you…to call me Sesshoumaru."

The panther demon laughed and pulled away.

"At least once more, my prince. As always," he said, ruffling the dog demons bangs gently.

"Can you get me some water?" Sesshoumaru asked, still woozy from the aftermath of so much pain. Miyuki handed him a glass and after he drank some more water his throat felt somewhat better. After all of his yelling, it was very sore. "I haven't seen you in a while, huh?"

"That's true, but not for me, sir. I've been taking care of you, though you've been unconscious. I don't know what you've been through, but it's never been as bad as this, those wounds on you are horrible. Even that little skirmish you had with that dragon Sakai a few years back wasn't as bad. Even though you were a bit well done after she let loose her fire, I thought for sure you would have beaten her if she didn't fly away after that, but no matter…" Miyuki babbled on, cleaning the side table next to Sesshoumaru's bed, leaving a fresh glass of cool water as he continued talking.

"I'm surprised that you woke up so late, Lord Inutaishou said it would probably take a few days for you to come back to consciousness, but it took you three whole weeks, I was getting worried…" The older demon's jade eyes were surprisingly expressive, so through his tirade of talking Sesshoumaru could always discern his underlying point, no matter how long it took for him to get to it.

"I'm fine, don't worry." The inu youkai sighed, knowing that Miyuki wouldn't have had many people to talk to while he was unconscious, so he was getting everything out now. He brushed the unruly strands of hair from his eyes.

"Yes, it is a relief that you are well. As soon as you started stirring I immediately went to find your parents. They didn't tell me what happened but I can infer from the wounds that it was your father that inflicted them. I don't know why but it must have been for a good reason, I don't think he would do that for nothing. Lady Seisha also looked very upset the day they brought you in, I thought you were dying or something at first but of course that thought didn't last long, my prince, I don't know why I thought that in the first place. I suppose I just got a little panicked when she brought you in covered in blood…"

"Miyuki…" Sesshoumaru undertoned, turning his head amongst his pillows towards the panther looked at him. He immediately bent over Sesshoumaru with a worried look in his eyes.

"Yes, sir?"

"…Shut up." The young demon groaned, closing his eyes with the barest hint of a smile curving his lips.

"Ah...yes sir." Miyuki laughed embarrassedly, scratching the back of his neck.

The day went on smoothly and when night chased away the sun, Inutaishou and Seisha returned to check on Sesshoumaru. When their visit with their bed ridden son ended, they left and the days went on like that until Sesshoumaru was able to sit up all by himself in his bed. The wounds were so deep they took a long time to heal and his burned skin was slowly getting better.

One day, early in the morning when Sesshoumaru was all alone in his chamber, he flung off the cover and slowly put his feet over the edge of the bed. He had been trying for days now to convince Miyuki and his parents that he was able to stand now, but they wouldn't let him try.

So now, a few hours before sunrise, Sesshoumaru decided to show them. He slowly stood and went to the balcony, walking slowly, mindful of his wounds and raw skin. He smiled as his fingers wrapped around the balcony railing and that's where Miyuki found him about an hour later.

"PRINCE SESSHOUMARU! What are you doing out of your bed?" Miyuki cried, storming into the room.

"Ah, Miyuki…I, um…" The demon prince turned with wide eyes, then schooled his face into an innocent expression. "I wanted to see the sunrise; you know it's my favorite part of the day…" He pulled out his trademark puppy dog eyes and Miyuki sighed, rolling his jade eyes.

"You know you should have called for me and asked me if you—" He let himself be cut off as he saw Sesshoumaru rearing back for an argument. Miyuki leaned against the door pane of the balcony entryway, blowing a few strands of hair from his eyes.

"No, you wouldn't have let me. I've asked you and my parents before to let me get out of bed and all three of you have told me no, so I had to do it myself."

"Alright, alright, Prince, calm down. It's alright, stay and watch. I'll tell the lord and lady that you're up." He smiled gently pushing off the pane, but before he left, he brushed Sesshoumaru's bangs back, "At least let me get a chair for you, I don't want you to stand for so long, okay?"

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Thanks."

A few minutes after Miyuki left, Inutaishou came in.

"Ah, son! You're up! This is wonderful! How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, father." He stretched his lengthening legs and looked up into Inutaishou's eyes. "Where's mother?"

"She left." Inutaishou replied, though it sounded covered with a layer of forced calmness.

"Left? Again?" The young demon frowned. Inutaishou looked out to the sunrise, his smile reflecting the light of the rays.

"Yes, well, you know how your mother just needs to be free sometimes."

Sesshoumaru nodded. A few moments passed in silence until Miyuki, who had been standing quietly to the side, spoke up.

"My Lord, I will help Prince Sesshoumaru back to his bed so he can rest now."

"Yes, he needs his rest." The lord said, a bit absently. "I'll leave it to you, then." The demon lord left, giving his son a final pat on his shoulder.

Once the door closed, Sesshoumaru turned sharply to Miyuki.

"You aren't really going to make me get back into bed, are you? I can't stand it anymore; just lying there is driving me crazy!"

"No, you can stay out for a while more." Miyuki assured him.

When another week passed, Sesshoumaru was moving about the castle at a somewhat normal pace. And after another month he was completely healed and back on his training schedule, and his mother still hadn't come back.

One morning at breakfast, Sesshoumaru decided to finally confront his father.

"Otousan, do you know when mother will be returning?" He picked at his raw fish, not eating any of it. His cheek leaned against his hand as his golden eyes turned up from his plate to his father.

"I can't say, son. Sometimes she—" He suddenly broke off and turned towards the dining hall doors. They opened and Seisha strode in.

"How have my two favorite men been?" She asked happily, patting Sesshoumaru on his shoulder.

"I-I've been fine, mother." He replied, a little more than stunned at her abrupt entrance.

"How are your wounds? Did everything heal up well?" She inquired, pushing back Sesshoumaru's bangs lovingly and kissing his forehead.

"Yes, I'm back to normal now."

"Good, good…" she trailed off as Inutaishou stood and caught her shoulder, looking into her eyes.

"Where have you been for so long?" He asked calmly, not wanting to sound accusing.

"Oh, you know. Around." She told her mate vaguely. Sesshoumaru's eyebrows rose at her secrecy, but he didn't say anything.

Later in the day Inutaishou and Seisha were alone in their chambers. Seisha was sitting on the foot of their bed, her head leaning against one of the carved wooden posts, her face turned away from where her mate was standing.

"Alright, Seisha." He grumbled finally, rounding on his mate as he saw her jump from his sudden call.

"What?" She asked, feigning innocence. But her eyes told her whole story and Inutaishou could read it as clearly as any book. He sat next to her on their bed and took one of her hands so she wouldn't move away.

He knew she shied away from bodily contact whenever something was bothering her, and wasn't counting on having to chase her if she got mad and left the room. He saw a spark of anger ignite her blue eyes, turning them a bit darker in color as he took her hand. She knew he wasn't planning on letting her get away. He stroked her palm lightly in a gesture of peace, attempting to calm her a bit.

"Seisha, I know something is wrong. Can you tell me what happened when you were away?" He strategically phrased the question so it didn't sound like an order, he know she wouldn't have taken lightly to that.

He waited for her answer as she appeared to be gathering her thoughts, and then she spoke carefully, her eyes avoiding Inutaishou's.

"I went to my parent's grave…" She told him softly, still not looking at him, opting to stare at her lap. Inutaishou instantly understood her forcefully cheerful attitude throughout the day and her depressed mood when they were alone. But she had gone to her parent's graves before, and it wasn't this bad all the other times. Her forced smiles nearly cracked her face, he was sure it was painful for her and it was so obvious, he knew Sesshoumaru must have been thinking that his mother had gone off the deep end. He waited for her to explain further.

"…It was horrible… their graves were so horribly defiled…I couldn't believe it. I searched for whoever did it, but I couldn't find a trail of their scent at all." As she was speaking her voice became stronger, until he could hear her hatred practically dripping from her words. He was astonished that anyone would do such a thing.

"Oh, no…" His voice was low and broken, astonished, "Oh, Seisha! That's terrible!" He took her into his arms and was surprised when she willingly melted into his chest and soft tears trickled down her cheek. "We will find whoever did it, Seisha. We will, don't worry." He whispered into her hair.

She lifted her head from his chest, her eyes dark as she nodded. He could see a glint in her eye that he didn't like. It was something akin to bloodlust, but not quite.

He could tell that she had planted the seed of a grudge in her heart and she planned to exact her revenge. Maybe not anytime soon, but he had a bad feeling about it, a dark pull in his chest that just made him want to grab her and crush her to his chest and not let her go to act out whatever plan was formulating in her head.

That thought was squashed quickly as she pulled away and stood from the bed. It was late in the night now; the light from the full moon shone through the open balcony. Seisha went over to close it; the doors came together with a snap.

As they moved about through the night, silence reigned supremely and not another word was spoken until the sun began to break the surface of the horizon.

Sleeping soundly in his room, Sesshoumaru knew nothing of the anguish in his mother's heart. He rolled over peacefully in his bed as the dawning sun fell over his angelic face…

-:-TIMEJUMP-:-

As the morning sun bathed the face of the five-century-old dog demon, he rose from the bed and stretched luxuriously. It was the morning of his fifth demonic birthday.

The demon's looks had not changed much in many centuries, he expected his features to begin growing more mature as he came around his seventh birthday, but that was not until a while for him.

So, the mid-teen looking demon flexed his legs and strode to the balcony to watch the sunrise which remained his favorite part of the day. When the sun cleared the horizon, he turned back into his chambers only to run his head into a firm chest. He stumbled back, pressing his hand to his forehead.

"Father!" He scowled up at the demon in front of him, "What are you doing here?" He was still in his night clothes, which only consisted of silk pants.

Every century his father always gave him a huge hug first thing. Since demons usually never even acknowledged their birthdays, the fact that his father did made the hug all that more special.

He braced himself for what was coming. Special or not, it was usually painful. Sure enough, Inutaishou crushed his son to him. Sesshoumaru felt his breath being forced out of him and his eyes even felt like they were bugging out of his head like some sort of stress toy.

"Happy birthday, son!" Inutaishou cried, crushing him a bit longer until he gave one final squeeze then finally let him go. For the fifth time in Sesshoumaru's life, he appreciated the thought, but the cracking bones he could pass up easily. He rolled his shoulders, wincing as his spine cracked back into proper alignment.

"Thank you…"

"Well, I'll leave you to dress. Come to the dining hall after you finish, your mother and I have a surprise." He finished with a wink, sliding jauntily out of the door and snapping it shut behind him. Sesshoumaru turned, his brain whirring with possibilities of what his surprise would be when he ran into another hard chest. This time he fell back on his butt.

"Damn it! What's with everyone standing in front of me today?" He exclaimed before he opened his eyes, looking up at the culprit. "Miyuki, what have I told you about doing that?"

"Not a word, my prince. You've never said anything about it," said the panther demon, his emerald eyes laughing. He held out his hand to help up the demon.

When Sesshoumaru pulled himself together and got dressed, he headed down to the dining hall to see what his parents had planned.

When he rounded into the hall, his parents were there as well as Miyuki. They were all facing away from him. He heard a voice that sounded familiar so he walked a bit closer and Miyuki shifted to the side a bit and he caught a flash of golden hair.

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**A/N: Alright, so yeeees. Coming along…Akina's back, Sesshoumaru has gone through his first bit of growing up, maturing…Seisha might be in trouble…dun dun duuun. Please continue reading! =) tell me how it is ^_^**

**JA NE!**


	10. A Chance

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER TEN-:-:-:-:-

"Akina! You're back!" He cried as he rushed forward, elbowed Miyuki out of the way, and caught his dearest friend in a hug.

As he pulled away, he held her by her shoulders.

"How have you been? How's Koemi?" He asked, getting a good look at her.

She still had deep golden hair, though a couple shades lighter than before. She had filled out, with a soft body and gentle curves. Her violet eyes were just as vibrant and expressive as ever and she had grown to be only about half a head shorter than him.

"Everything is wonderful, Sesshie-kun! Koemi is four centuries old now and he's getting tall; I bet in a few more decades he'll be taller than me!" She said, snagging his waist and hugging him again, "Sorry I was gone for so long, I missed you." She smiled into his haori, listening to his heart beating. Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you too…"

"Aw, now isn't that sweet?" Inutaishou said innocently, eyeing the two of them. Sesshoumaru released Akina, ignoring his father's comment and walking away from the group, leading Akina.

"Would you like to visit your rooms? It's been a while, but the servants have kept it clean." He said as they both ascended the stair case.

"Yeah, I'd love to." She replied, bouncing up the stairs on light footsteps. As they disappeared into the upper levels of the castle, Miyuki turned to Inutaishou and Seisha.

"Excuse me, Lord and Lady, I must go." He bowed and took his leave. The two mates then left and went up the stairs, returning to their study.

Sesshoumaru and Akina stopped in front of her rooms. She reached out and ran her slender fingers down the carving of a unicorn in a misty valley surrounded by sloping hills as it stood majestically in the middle of a field, it was rearing back on its hind legs in a symbol of strength and peace with its horn raised up to the sky.

Akina then took the handle and pushed open the door, breathing a sigh of contentedness as she looked around her room.

"Ah, it's just as I remember it! And I love it just as much!" She went through her rooms again, gliding over the floors that she had last walked on four hundred years ago.

"So what's been going on while I was gone? Don't tell me everything's been the same around here!" She turned to him, gesturing to the castle walls around her. Sesshoumaru smiled.

"Actually, not many things have changed." Sesshoumaru scratched his chin thoughtfully. Akina snorted disbelievingly.

"I know you're just being lazy! You don't want to tell me everything. What's different about you, huh? I feel something is different." She said, her look was stubborn.

"Well, yes…" He mumbled. She smirked.

"See, I knew it! So what was it? What happened?" She sat on her bed and motioned for him to join her as she listened to his story. Her eyes were wide and she listened in rapt silence to his story.

When he got to the parts where he and his father were inside the protective circle she was totally engrossed in his story and audible gasps were heard when he told her of how long he was unconscious. When he did finish, Akina was stunned and suddenly grabbed him in a hug.

"That's amazing! How much more powerful are you?" She asked, looking him over as if she could physically see it.

"Not much right now, but father says it will take many centuries until I can begin training the Damon Form. He said it was like childbirth, which was kind of weird, but he meant that the power has to grow inside me before it can emerge and I can learn to use it. He said he would give me some kind of sign when I might be able to train the form and even then it will take a very long time." He told her, his fingers idly toying with the bed cover as Akina looked thoughtful.

"I wonder what the sign will be…" she said softly, tapping her fingers on her chin, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, I wonder too." Sesshoumaru shrugged, "He'll probably just tell me when the time comes." He got a mental picture of his father bursting into his rooms in a few centuries, probably when he was ten or eleven and grabbing his shoulders and saying "You can train your form now!" Then let go of him and walk out. He chuckled at his thoughts, then shook his head. "Anyway, he won't tell me for a very long time."

"Well, I'll be with you, don't worry!" she closed her eyes and laughed, then hopped off the bed. "Aside from that stuff, I say we do something fun now. What d'you think? A picnic? Yeah, we can stay outside all day long!" She grabbed Sesshoumaru's wrist and pulled him off the bed and a few steps towards the door before she released him, and he followed on his own accord.

As they rounded into the hallway Sesshoumaru smirked and looked sideways while they were walking. Akina slid him a look also.

"For old time's sake?" She asked, looking him over competitively.

"You bet. But I set the rules."

"Fine. Set away." Her grin became devious.

"No other forms, no tricks. Whoever grabs food and makes it outside first is the winner, okay?"

"Alright, sounds fair." Her smirk grew mischievously. "Kitchen's still in the same place, right? Has that changed?"

"No, of course not!" He scowled at her, "When I said not much much has changed, I meant it."

"Yeah, whatever. If you're done yapping your mouth, let's go! Or are you just stalling because you know I'll beat you?"

"In your dreams," he shot back, taking a track start with her doing the same. Through their curtains of hair falling over their faces, they shared a sidelong glance.

"I can't believe we're doing this again…" He chuckled.

"Once again…"

"NO I'm not stalling!" He laughed.

"We'll see. Ready."

"Set."

"GO!" She yelled, tearing forward like lightning with him hot on her heels.

The rest of the day, the two friends spent hours together catching up after four centuries of being apart.

By the time months flew by, it was as if they were never separated. They even went to visit the unicorn valley to see Koemi. He was a tall, gentle faced young unicorn with large expressive greenish-blue eyes and golden hair that just passed his shoulders with shorter pieces framing his sweet face.

Akina was right in thinking he would be taller than her because when they were there, the two were dead even. He was the regular social butterfly; he had a personality that attracted everyone in the valley. He, following Akina, regarded Sesshoumaru as he brother also.

On the way back, during their one rest night, Sesshoumaru started awake from his light sleep. He was quaking with a cold sweat, and his eyes darting. The silence of the night pressed on his ears as he looked sideways at Akina who was curled and sleeping peacefully next to him. He shook his head, rubbing his eyes and wiping the cold sweat from his face and hair before he dropped back to the ground for a sleepless night.

He'd had an awful dream about his mother.

When they returned to the western castle Sesshoumaru really began to worry about Seisha. She was gone again and Inutaishou told him she had been gone for weeks while he was at the northern lands.

The day he came home, he was care free and smiling, but when he heard the news of his mother gone again, his whole mood was turned around. He and his father sat in the conference hall.

"Why is she gone again? It hasn't even been two years since the last time she was gone." He slammed his fist to the table, making the items long it shudder.

Inutaishou, sitting across from him, looked calmly at his son.

"Where does she keep going? You're keeping something from me and I want to know. I have a very bad feeling about this." He told his father sternly, looking him straight in his calm eyes. The older demon took a deep breath and calmly started to speak. His apparent unfeeling, calm, apathetic expression and tone infuriated Sesshoumaru.

"Son…" Just that one word in his father's calm tone made Sesshoumaru erupt.

"DON'T talk to me like that! I don't want to be pushed aside! Tell me where mother is NOW or I'll go out and find her MYSELF!" In a jerky movement, the young demon was up, his chair skidding a few feet back from his force. Both of his clawed hands splayed over the table and he uncharacteristically glared down at his father imperiously. As soon as he looked into Inutaishou's eyes they flared red dangerously and he stood also. Drawn up to full height, he towered over his son with energy crackling around him. The daiyoukai's voice grew deep and foreboding and growled out at his son.

"Sit. Down."

As the livid tones reached Sesshoumaru's ears, his eyes widened and he realized what he had done: he had just threatened his own father. He immediately sunk back into his chair.

"I'm sorry, father." He whispered, looking down at the table.

Inutaishou remained standing, but he managed to control his power and his eyes returned to white. His mouth was a thin severe line and he clasped his hands behind his back. He stalked a few steps to the right and then paced back, doing this a few times to calm himself. Finally he spoke. It was quiet and sounded forcibly controlled.

"I will not be disrespected like that, Sesshoumaru." The young demon flinched at the feral undertones.

"I'm sorry, father." He repeated, keeping his eyes downcast.

"I understand what you're feeling, but that gives you no right to speak to me as you did." He stopped pacing and leveled Sesshoumaru with a look, his eyes as hard as diamonds. "Now about your mother…" His voice softened a bit and he took a deep breath. Sesshoumaru looked up from the table curiously now. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you before, but we didn't want to worry you..." He paused. Sesshoumaru sat up in his chair impatiently.

"What? What is it? What happened?"

"Before I tell you, I need to know what it is that makes you think your mother is in trouble." He sat in his chair and lent back, most pretense of his anger gone.

"Well…" Sesshoumaru began, "I had a dream when Akina and I were coming back from the northern lands. I saw mother running through a forest, she was running towards something and was calling out and her eyes were red then she transformed. After that everything went black for a second then I saw her being pinned down, there was blood all over her and she…she stopped moving." He finished quietly.

Inutaishou looked over his son before carefully speaking.

"That could always be just a dream..." He said evenly, though Sesshoumaru heard the very slight fear tinting his tone. He got up and began pacing again.

"Well, I don't think it was just a dream! I think it was a premonition! Why else would I only have a dream of her while she's gone and you won't tell me where she is?"

"Sesshoumaru!" Inutaishou barked, turning and shooting a piercing warning glare at his son, telling him to keep himself in check. The young demon backed off and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "It's just, I'm so worried. Can you please tell me why she's gone?" The words hung in the air between them as their eyes met pointedly. Then Inutaishou looked away and sighed, running his fingers through his long silver hair.

"Your grandparents' grave has been defiled." He said bluntly, fixing Sesshoumaru with a hard gaze, watching his expressions closely. The young demon paused, his eyes growing and his jaw dropped open before he quickly snapped it shut, and his eyebrows came together.

"What do you mean defiled? What happened to their remains?" He asked weakly, his shoulders sagging from the defensive position he was unaware of holding.

"The bones were strewn about and both of their skulls were missing. Needless to say, your mother was furious and still is. She is constantly searching for whoever desecrated her parents' graves, which is why she is gone now."

"But then…"

"We don't know who did it. Son, you said in your dream that your mother was calling out something when she was running before her transformation. What was she saying? If it was a name we might be able to do something." Sesshoumaru perked up.

"Then you believe my dream was a premonition!" He declared.

"It's a possibility." Responded Inutaishou, his face grim. If it was true, then Seisha was in trouble.

"Well, it was hard to understand what she was saying, but it sounded like…Joura or Juusan…yeah, I think it was Juusan. Then she said: 'If I catch you…I swear, you're dead…!' then that was it."

"Juusan?" Inutaishou echoed thoughtfully.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what she was saying. Do you recognize the name?" He looked hopeful as his father searched his mind, not coming up with anything.

"…No, I don't recognize it." He murmured. Sesshoumaru's shoulders fell further.

Then a meek voice suddenly came out of nowhere.

"Um…excuse me, my lord, I'm sorry for eves dropping on your conversation, and I realize it is forbidden to speak out of turn, but…" A young girl servant stepped out of the shadows, out of a corner of the Conference Hall. She stopped about ten feet from the two high-ranking demons and stood there, her knees quaking a bit. She had short jet black hair, short-cropped in the back with long pieces framing her face. Her eyes were sparkling jade green and her skin was porcelain pale in color; Sesshoumaru recognized her.

"You're Miyuki's sister." He said in a kind of question-statement. She nodded shyly, her large emerald eyes glued to the floor.

"What is your reason for breaking the servant's oath?" Inutaishou asked sternly, though not roughly. Their eyes met for a brief second before hers returned to the floor.

"I…I believe I can help you." She said uncertainly. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened.

"Help? How?" He asked, astonished. It was a rare, if not unheard of, for a servant to speak out of turn or not when prompted to do so, and it was even more unheard of for one to offer their help so boldly without being asked if the matter didn't concern them.

Of course her shaky tones were not any universal sign of boldness, but she was just a mere child in the demon world if going by her age. She was definitely not a high-ranking servant like her brother, Miyuki, who was assigned a master. She was probably one that tended the gardens or washed clothes. So her speaking directly to the lord and prince of the castle at all was something that other servants her rank never even dreamed of.

"Do you know who Juusan is?" Inutaishou asked, now looking at the small girl intently. She looked about ten or eleven, and she also looked scared. "It's alright to speak freely," he told her softly after a few seconds of silence, "I'm giving you permission." She raised her eyes and nodded, looking slightly less nervous now.

"Juusan is an assassin from a band of rogue Dragons of the Southern Lands, but most called him Ban. They were ones who craved blood unnaturally. Juusan above all the rest. He is legendary in the south and known for always getting his target. But two got away from him, and only two. I did not know that those people were Lady Seisha's parents or I would have spoken sooner." She said quietly, while the two demons listened. When she looked at them pointedly, silently asking them what they were thinking, Inutaishou's head was whirring with the new information and Sesshoumaru spoke.

"So it was that assassin?" He asked, the wheels of his mind almost visibly turning. "Why would that demon go after the graves? They were already dead. What was his point?" He continued, sounding confused as he looked over at his father who had been silent up until now.

"It was a grudge. Juusan must have held a long grudge against them for being the only two that escaped him and when he finally found out where their grave was, he did all he could to reap his revenge." He answered under his breath, running his hands over his face then through his hair.

Miyuki's sister nodded, then suddenly Inutaishou looked at her.

"What is your name?" He asked. She looked taken aback.

"Um, m-my name? It's Milani, Sir."

"You will be rewarded for your help, Milani." He said, his tone holding no emotion as he was still thinking over Seisha's predicament.

"Oh, no, Lord Inutaishou! I couldn't accept anything, sir!" she began shaking her head, looking flustered. "I am happy to assist you in any way I can!" She sounded terrified at the mere thought of reimbursement.

"Nonsense, I insist." Inutaishou said, coming back to himself and speaking warmly to the small girl. "You are relieved of your duties for life. You may remain in the castle and be taken care of or you may go abroad if you would like. Do whatever you please."

"Um, well…ah…Th-thank you, Sir." She flushed at his gratitude.

"One more thing."

"Anything, sir."

"Do you know where Juusan could be now?" He looked at her with a small spark of hope in his eyes. He needed to find Seisha and hurry up about it.

"Well, I'm not sure, sir. I remember rumors of him having a private lair away from the main one where Lord Jigan and the rest of the Dragons live. It was somewhere in the valleys of Mount Saki." She said slowly, her eyes looking up at the ceiling in thought. The daiyoukai nodded.

"I'll start there. I may be able to stop this." He stood from his chair, Sesshoumaru did too.

"I'm coming with you." He announced, only to be cut off sternly by his father.

"No." He said bluntly, brushing past his son, then turning to face him when he stood the entryway of the Conference Hall. "It's too dangerous." Sesshoumaru inputted a scoff/snort of disbelief and repressed anger. "Stay here and take care of the castle. I'll be back. Hopefully with your mother." He turned and bolted out of the room at such a high speed it looked as if he just disappeared.

"DAMN IT!" Sesshoumaru exclaimed after his father left. He kicked a chair hard, and watched it as it flew and crashed into a wall, splintering into broken pieces. He turned away as servants rushed to clean the wooden mess. "Why does he still think I'm a child?" he kicked one of the Conference Hall doors, trying to release his anger and finally left the hall, the door reverberating on its hinges in his wake.

Sesshoumaru stormed around the castle the entire rest of the day. When night came he decided to go to sleep to escape from the turmoil in his mind. But what he got was the exact opposite. He tossed and turned as his dream consumed him.

_The forest around him was dark and dank. He looked around at the dense leaves, then suddenly he ran forward as if he was not in control of his body, then soon realized that he was seeing through his mother's eyes. He felt such hatred in his heart that belonged to Seisha and he could feel red hot anger pulsing through his veins. Her vision snapped upward as a piercing screech filled the silent sky. _

_Suddenly, the ground shook and she stopped in her tracks. The trees before her where flattened as an immense black dragon dropped from the sky, its glinting scales shone menacingly. _

"_JUUSAN! JUUSAN! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" Seisha screamed, her eyes tinting red, then grew large and her jaw elongated before she transformed in a brilliant flare of light. _

_Sesshoumaru's point of view was suddenly changed and he could look around freely. The dragon screeched loudly and raucously, as if laughing and spread its gigantic leathery wings. Seisha reared and struck out with long claws. The black dragon spewed fire, and Sesshoumaru watched as it vaporized a heavy flow of water pouring from a waterfall. He could see jagged rocks at the bottom as the water was temporarily removed before water from the stream filled it again._

_He turned sharply to his mother whose loud roar shook the ground beneath his feet. He saw the dragon transform to humanoid form and Seisha did too, though she was covered in blood._

_Their fighting continued, slashing and piercing the other. A dark flash over took the scene and abruptly Sesshoumaru saw the two tumble, then Juusan pinned Seisha by her neck to the ground. _

_Sesshoumaru found he couldn't move in his dream and cried out to his mother as he tried to reach her stilling body…_

"No! Mother!" Sesshoumaru sat up in his bed, the words flying out of his mouth. The same cold sweat covered him uncomfortably as he jumped out of the bed. "The Eastern Lands!" he exclaimed, looking about crazily.

"Prince Sesshoumaru! What is going on?" Miyuki came into his room wearing a frown. Sesshoumaru streaked up to him and grabbed the taller demon by his shoulders, glaring at him, his eyes wild.

"Find my father! Tell him to go to Dead Man's Falls in the Eastern Lands! Now!" He released Miyuki with a shove, "I have to go." He changed at lightning speed and jump right out of the balcony, streaking toward the place he'd seen in his premonition. It was the dead of night, but he recognized the waterfall that the black dragon had vaporized as Dead Man's Falls. He was sure of it.

He ran faster as the sun began to rise, bolting through the forests and grassy plains, blowing through plantations, farms and villages. He would be able to reach Dead Man's Falls by nightfall. He hoped he wouldn't be too late.

His eyes glistened with pain as his muscles screamed at him to stop, but he only shook his head furiously in an attempt to clear it. He had been running at hyper speed for much too long. But the sun was beginning to sink as the day started to fade dark and he had only just dashed passed the border between the Western and Eastern lands and it would take him at least another two hours to reach Dead Man Falls if he could keep his pace.

Sesshoumaru silently prayed his father would make it in time to help him. If Juusan was able to overpower his mother, then he was done for if he tried to fight. But he still had to get there. He had to stop this from happening, by any means necessary.

A far off screech of a dragon reached his ears and his blood ran cold, the color drained from his cheeks and he felt his body prickle with dread.

"No!" He let out a choked yell and ran forward blindly, his mind numbed from grief. His legs fumbled, and he had many cuts and scratches from falling and from darting through thorny bushes.

'_I'm not fast enough! I won't make it in time! Mother!'_ He cried in his head, pushing harder, a groan involuntarily parted his lips as his body protested fiercely. He had never run this far, this fast in his life. His heart was beating so hard, all he could hear was blood rushing in his ears.

He heard another roar, this time a tiny fraction closer, but still too far. He gritted his teeth, tears leaked from his glistening golden eyes and he pressed on. The forest became familiar as he ran closer.

Moments later, overhead, gales of wind whipped his hair, the strands stung his face and he looked up, staring into his worst fear.

The dragon was flying away. Its great wings beat the air and it roared and spit flame in victory. He couldn't even register the deafening cry of the dragon. He closed his eyes, tears running.

He smelled blood and mentally braced himself as he flew into the clearing, the great roaring of the falls was drowned out by the blood pounding in his head…and he saw his mother.

He ran to her and skidded on his knees gracelessly at her side. She was lying on the ground brokenly, her hair spread and stained with blood and her eyes closed. He looked over her body, reached out a hand and then drew it back, afraid to touch her. His tears fell to the ground as they trickled down his cheeks. He cried out despairingly and collapsed over her body, sobs wracking his own.

"Mother, no! I'm so sorry! So sorry…I couldn't come in time, I—I could have saved you…why? Why?" He moaned desperately over his mother's body, taking in shuddering breaths, inconsolably weeping for what seemed like an eternity of pain.

Suddenly he froze, his heart jumping agonizingly. His eyes flew open and hope sparked in the watery mess of his teary face.

Her body was not completely cold! She was alive, but only just. He pushed himself to his knees, wiping his eyes hurriedly and immediately checked for a pulse. Yes! There it was! Faint, but there! A smile lit his tear streaked face and he felt more elated than he ever had in his life. His mother was alive! There was a chance! A chance!

He picked her up as carefully as he was able and began to run, his heart doing flips in his chest.

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Ja ne.


	11. My Fault

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER ELEVEN-:-:-:-:-

Sesshoumaru's breath was ragged as he leapt around trees, carefully holding his mother's bleeding body in his arms. His heart felt like it was doing back flips in his chest, and his heart was not a very accomplished gymnast.

He wanted to run so fast and release the adrenaline that was coursing through his body like fire, but he had to be extremely careful. He was hold precious cargo that could not be jolted around. He made his running as smooth as possible and focused on not running into anything at his high speed. That was difficult as everything was whizzing by him and his eyes were still blurred from tears.

He looked down at her often, but each time it wrenched at his heart. To him, his parents always seemed indestructible and untouchable. He had never seen anything that either of them couldn't handle and yet here he was, carrying his mother's broken, burnt, bleeding body as she was knocking on death's door with gusto.

It seemed surreal to him, and he almost rejected the truth of it. He had a fleeting thought that he was still in his dream, but the pain in his heart and his legs put him firmly on the correct side of his fence. He knew this was real.

He steeled himself and focused on the path ahead of him, he could not afford to be distracted by his grief. If he was fast enough, he knew she would make it. She had to.

A few hours later, when he was only about ten minutes passed the border, he felt his father's power signature growing near at a speed much faster than he was able to reach. He knew Inutaishou was using his youki cloud, a technique that Sesshoumaru hadn't completely mastered yet. His eyes brightened and a rescued feeling washed over him as he felt his father approach. His aura was so comforting, Sesshoumaru just wanted to cry out with relief; she was saved.

"Thank god!" He breathed, speeding up fractionally, mindful of his mother. Moments later his father flew overhead on the white cloud, dropping in front of his son who slowly came to a stop. Inutaishou rushed up to them, quickly looking over Seisha and taking her from Sesshoumaru's arms before gesturing him to the cloud. He said nothing as they flew at top speed. He just looked over Seisha, his eyes dark.

They flew swiftly, in the dead of silence as wind rushed in their ears. In a matter of hours they reached the castle. A small battalion of servants rushed out of the Entrance Hall with Miyuki in the lead. They surrounded Sesshoumaru, Inutaishou and Seisha, then ported them to the upper levels of the castle.

The ancient castle granted servants specific abilities that would help them serve their Lords. Teleportation was a main facility that all servants used to answer their summons. As the three appeared in Seisha's and Inutaishou's chambers, only Miyuki was left standing near them. He stood quietly, awaiting instructions. Sesshoumaru turned to him, and told him to wait in his room. The servant left the royal family swiftly.

Sesshoumaru hovered over his mother as Inutaishou laid her gently in their bed after he washed her in their bathing pool. She was still dead unconscious, her face was covered in deep gashes and her lower body was burned so badly, it was nearly beyond recognition. The dragon fire that Juusan unleashed was superheated and hot as lightning many times over, one lick of it and most were instantly vaporized. It was amazing that Seisha had survived, if only barely, from such an attack. But her health was not getting better, and her body was weakening over the passing hours.

During the night, when Sesshoumaru was watching over her, he heard movement on the bed and rushed to her. He pushed hair from her eyes which were open and pain-filled.

"Mother?" he whispered, his eyes shining with held-back tears. "How are you feeling? How bad is the pain?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"Dragon fire is more than just an external wound, Sesshoumaru." Her voice so soft and scratchy he wouldn't have been able to understand her if it weren't for a combination of lip-reading and demonic hearing.

He hadn't known that about dragon fire. He knew it was superheated and extremely dangerous, but what other properties did it have? Did his father know about this? He left earlier that day, saying he would find a mage that knew healing abilities. Could mages could heal dragon fire wounds?

"What else does it do?" His low voice sounded so loud in the silent room. Seisha's gash covered face turned weakly and she looked out of the open balcony. He listened intently to her labored breathing incase she was trying to talk or if her condition took a turn for the worst. She took shallow, shuddering breaths, steadying her fading body. Talking was a risk that she had to take, even though it was immensely painful.

"Internal damage. Failure. Poison." She managed, her eyes closing, a hiss escaping her lips. She looked like she was in immense pain, though she never cried out once.

"Failure? Organ Failure? Dragon fire is poisonous? Are you sure?" He asked, his body feeling cold as he buried his mother in a slew of questions as he usually did when he was nervous or anxious. A small smile touched her expression at his habits before she grimaced in pain again.

"I'm sure." Her eyes fell closed and her arm began to move. "Where is your father?" her head rolled to the side now, looking with glazed eyes at her son. She noted that his expression was extremely pained. He was truly distraught about seeing his mother like this.

"He went to find a healer mage, he'll be back soon." He told her gently, wincing as his eyes roved over more of the wounds around her shoulders and neck. She shook her head, her eyes shone sorrowfully.

"Won't help. I need him here…I need to say goodbye, but before that…" The hand that she was struggling to move, trailed up to her neck, her other arm coming up too. They went behind her head where they fumbled with something then she brought them back around, a golden chain held limply between her fingers.

"What is that? Do I give that to father? And what do you mean say goodbye? You're not going anywhere…" He said, his voice trembling as he reached out and took the chain from her as her arm fell limply back onto the bed. His chest felt compressed, like a black hole was swallowing up his insides, leaving him empty and horribly hollow. He snapped his shaking fingers and a servant with a forced-sober face appeared at his side.

"Find my father! Now! Tell him to come back!" He hissed at the demon who immediately ported out. He turned back to his mother, a desperate look in his tearing eyes. He thrust out the golden chain, trying to give it back to her, shaking his head. The chain links tinkled as he shook it, urgently attempting to make her reclaim the necklace.

"You don't need to start giving things away to anyone, mother, you will be fine," he said, a pleading tone entered his voice and tears clung to his lashes, "Please take it back, _please_!" He was begging now. Seisha closed her eyes and shook her head, her shaking hand came up and closed his hand around the gold chain, then covered it with hers, her skin cold.

"I'm sorry. The necklace is yours. You will need it." Her voice was getting softer as she drew closer to death. The light in her eyes was fading and he was hopelessly desperate to make it stop receding.

"Mother, _please_! Please don't go! You have to wait for father, remember? For father! You have to hold on!" He stood over her, his tears finally overflowing and falling onto the bed, one after another. Seisha listened to them fall and she closed her eyes. Sesshoumaru shook her hand gently. "Don't go!" He strained, pressed her hand to his forehead as he bent over her, his knees hitting the solid marble floor. His throat spasmodically constricted and he let out a sob, "I'm so sorry I let this happen!"

Just moments later Inutaishou swept into the room, putting his hands on Sesshoumaru's shoulders. The young demon jumped, and hiccupped, looking into his father's eyes. He lifted his son to his feet and gently coaxed him from the room.

At the door Sesshoumaru turned and buried his face into his father's haori, grasping handfuls of the fabric in both hands and cried, hard. The sobs wracked him and ripped his throat. Inutaishou held his son for a few moments before gently pulling away.

A hand fell on Sesshoumaru's shoulder and he turned, looking into Akina's tearful eyes. His father closed the door gently behind them. Sesshoumaru fell back against it, sliding down the surface until he was sitting on the floor. Akina went to her knees in front of him, tears falling freely from her eyes.

His hands covered his face, the heels of his palms pressing into his eyes and then slid up to the roots of his hair, gripping them painfully. Raw sobs between shuddering breathes consumed his trembling body, tears leaked through his tightly closed eyes.

Akina put her arms around him, rocking him gently, her own tears soaking his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Sesshoumaru." She whispered next to his ear, her voice strained.

Through her arms, he looked at his hand. He slowly opened it, looking at the chain. It had a small golden sphere at the end, it was seamless and perfectly round. He looked at it through blurry eyes, gritted his teeth and suddenly clamped his hand shut, squeezing it so hard, his nails dug into his hand and blood covered the necklace. His eyes closed and his heart wrenched. His mother was gone. Gone forever. He could have stopped it. It was his fault. His fault.

oOo

"My fault." He said under his breath, his eyes fogged as he looked out of his balcony from the chair he had been sitting in for the past months. It had been four months since Seisha died.

As far as anyone knew, Sesshoumaru hadn't eaten or slept since then. No one knew that he blamed himself severely for his mother's death. He never talked much. He had dark circles forming under his eyes which were extremely rare for a demon.

Miyuki was at his side the majority of the time, gently trying to sway him out of his deep depression, but he never got through. Akina was also there, almost becoming his shadow. Inutaishou came to him often too, speaking to him softly, never trying to cajole him back to normality.

Inutaishou always spoke to Sesshoumaru of what was happening around the castle, what was happening around the Western Lands. He was trying to show his son that the world didn't stop when Seisha died. Sesshoumaru saw through his tactics and never reacted to them as Inutaishou would have liked. He never let his words penetrate the black fog clouding his mind.

A few more months passed by and Sesshoumaru was still locked in his room, his somber expression never changed and Inutaishou was getting extremely worried.

One day he was hurrying through the halls intent on helping his son, when he saw a figure walking far ahead of him, their back turned. He sniffed the air and found with joy that the figure was Sesshoumaru. He grinned and caught up to him, then dropped a step short, his face falling.

The young demon was walking slowly, his eyes just as glassy as they had been for the past months now, almost coming up to a whole year. Inutaishou sighed and walked alongside his son, looking down sideways with a dismal look in his eyes.

"Good morning, son." He said, a dull tone entering his voice.

"Hello." Sesshoumaru answered shortly, his own voice very dull and emotionless, his face bleak. Inutaishou's eyes widened. He was surprised he got an answer. It was a curt answer, but an answer none the less. He felt somewhat heartened at the slight progress.

"So, you've come out of your rooms…" He commented vaguely, keeping his tone as casual as possible.

"Yes." Sesshoumaru responded hollowly, his steady, slow walking never missing a pace.

"Why is that?" Inutaishou asked lightly, his bright excited eyes belaying his casual façade and Sesshoumaru sensed this easily. He just shook his head, not replying this time and the daiyoukai's shoulders slumped. He thought he was making progress.

"Son…please, it's been almost a year. You need to start moving on. We both lost someone very, very important to us, but we need to move on. The world is still turning." He said gently, for the first time talking openly about his son's depression.

Sesshoumaru just shook his head again, his eyes vacant and he continued walking, strong and steady and calm as ever. Inutaishou let out a growl of frustration and abruptly stopped walking. Sesshoumaru continued. He passed his father with dull eyes, looking straight forward into the empty corridor ahead.

Days upon days passed and Sesshoumaru never changed. The hollow look in his eyes never filled in.

Years began to drift by and his immense sorrow slowly turned to anger. He was angry at himself for letting his mother die and had completely convinced himself that it was his fault. His hand was always coming up to his neck, his fingers brushing the thin golden chain of his mother's.

He hated when people came to him. They always made it seem like they were coming to visit a sick or dying person. They would sit down next to him and talk to him quietly like he was mentally ill. There was nothing wrong with him. Well…besides the fact that he was responsible for his mother's death.

It was worse when Miyuki or Akina came in, though. They always came in, waving their pity for him in his face, saying how sorry they were for his mother passing on. He wanted to yell at them. He wanted to ask them what they were sorry for. It was his fault. Why where they apologizing? They didn't do anything. It was his fault.

"Good morning, Sesshoumaru…how are you?" Akina asked, knowing she wouldn't get an answer. She sighed and looked out of the balcony with him. "I don't know why you feel like you need to act like this. It's completely not like you. " His eye twitched. She didn't notice. "Seisha was such a wonderful person and I can understand what you're going through, but…" His teeth clenched. She didn't notice. "But, Sesshoumaru, I'm so sorry she's gone, but I don't think she—"

"**SHUT UP!**" The demon bellowed, shooting suddenly from his chair, his eyes wild with rage as he rounded on her.

"Sesshoumaru, wha-?" Her eyes went wide, fear creeping into them.

"I DON'T NEED YOU TELLING ME HOW SORRY YOU ARE! I don't need your pity! LEAVE Akina! Just LEAVE! I don't need you here! I don't WANT you here! You think you're helping, but you're not! You're NOT!" He seethed, red bleeding into his eyes and his fangs grew a bit longer, signaling a transformation, but he held it back. His hair flowed from his body, his power coursing violently through his form like waves of the ocean.

"Sesshoumaru! What is your problem?" She shot to her feet, glaring at him with equal rage. "I'm just trying to comfort you! To make you feel better!" She bit back at him, anger sparking in her heated violet eyes. His molten glare overpowered hers and he towered over her.

"I don't need you! LEAVE! GET OUT! Get out of the castle!" He roared, his demonic marks burning his skin, turning jagged. She fumbled; her expression was one of shock.

"You don't mean that, Sesshoumaru. You're just upset..." She told him firmly, though her voice had shaky underlying tones.

"No, I do mean it, Akina. I want you to leave. I can't stand you or anyone else anymore. Leave the castle Akina. Now. _Leave_." He whispered, his voice dangerously low and his eyes where fiery, demonic red. He bared his elongated fangs and she sobered, her face straight. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, no matter how furious he got. He could order her to be thrown out of the castle and the guards would have no choice but to do it. She wasn't going to do that though. If she did leave, it would be with dignity.

She sighed and looked away from the seething demon.

"Is that really what you want?" She asked coolly. Her eyes flicking back up to his.

"Yes." He snarled. She turned her back.

"Fine. Then I'll leave." She stalked out, slamming the door behind her. It wobbled violently on its hinges. Sesshoumaru stared at the door a little while longer, his power reigning back in and his fangs, eyes, and demonic markings faded back to normal. His heart was still, however, beating so loud he could hear it.

He relaxed his body and threw himself back into his chair, then he kicked the one Akina had been sitting in. It skidded across the floor and crashed into the wall. He fumed in his seat.

"Why did she have to make me do that? Why does she keep apologizing? It's not her fault, its mine! Why do they keep saying sorry?" he leaned forward, burying his head in his hands, looking through his fingers at the rising sun. He looked away suddenly, scowling. "Why does everything look so normal? Like nothing is wrong?" He growled, taking the balcony doors and shutting out the pink and orange sky. He was abruptly engulfed in dim light from the only candle in the room and felt oddly relieved.

In the darkness he relaxed his eyes, and felt stress drain from his muscles. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

Akina and Inutaishou talked about Sesshoumaru's manner, and Inutaishou tried to get her to stay, saying that Sesshoumaru was just mad and didn't mean what he said, but Akina told him that he had made it quite clear that he was serious. Akina left later that day, hugging Inutaishou goodbye, but not saying a word to Sesshoumaru.

The next day Inutaishou stormed into Sesshoumaru's room and ordered Miyuki out, shutting the door behind him.

"You told Akina to leave," he stated, his voice low.

"Yes." Sesshoumaru replied calmly. He was in the sitting room of his chambers, placed in front of the dead fire.

"Why? She is your best friend. Why would you ask her to leave?" Asked the daiyoukai, his eyes narrowed.

"She kept apologizing." He said flatly, not looking at his father.

"Apologizing? Why would you tell her to leave for that?" Inutaishou got no answer, so he turned towards the door. "You will regret letting her leave, I know you will. Tell me when you realize your faults and you can go to see if she will accept your apology." He left and Sesshoumaru scoffed in his head. He did not regret telling her to leave. It was for the best. He didn't want Akina's overly cheerful personality around him anymore. It was blinding and suffocating.

More years ticked closer to Sesshoumaru's sixth birthday and he still had anger built up in him.

Later one day, when night had fallen, Sesshoumaru opened his balcony and jumped down into a wide field with a cherry tree in the center. He walked through the grounds until he came to the training ground that he and his mother and father used to use. The wall of weapons was on one of the castle walls and he paced over to it.

He calmly took down a sword. He had still been keeping up with his training in private, when it was dark and no one was using the training ground.

He turned and slashed it through the air lightning fast, watching as a servant who had been coming up to him stopped in his tracks, spreading his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Prince Sesshoumaru…do…do you want assistance? M-maybe a sparring partner?" The servant asked in shaky tones. They sometimes used guards or soldiers from the Western Army for sparing partners.

"No." He groused, turning from the quivering demon.

The servant turned tail and disappeared back up to the castle. Through the night Sesshoumaru trained himself, letting out a small fraction of his frustration and later returned to his rooms, just when the sun was peeking over the horizon. He no longer enjoyed the rising sun. Now he found it irritating. It was as if it where mocking him with its cheeriness, just like Akina.

He couldn't understand why he had found it beautiful at a time in the past. It was just a chunk of hot gas filtering through layers of filth that rose from the earth and its occupants. There was nothing beautiful about it.

A few more years passed like that, then one night when Sesshoumaru went out to train, his father was there waiting for him. The young demon stopped a ways away from him. Inutaishou closed the distance between them and looked down at his son, his eyes sorrowful. He was distraught for his son, not knowing if he would ever return to how he used to be.

"Sesshoumaru…"

"What?" He snapped. His molten eyes going heated.

"I'm going to ask again Sesshoumaru and I want an answer this time. Why are you doing this to yourself? You are deeply withdrawn from everything you love. You pushed away Akina. You're training at night. Your servant Miyuki told me that you are not even looking at the sunrise anymore which is your favorite part of the day. You keep your rooms in darkness, you hardly eat or sleep. You lost your mother, and I know what the loss felt like. I lost my mate…my love." His eyes rested on Sesshoumaru's fixedly as he saw him rearing back for a retort.

"You DON'T know what it feels like! You'll never know what it feels like! Not to me!" He snarled unexpectedly. Inutaishou looked taken aback before his face set darkly. His piercing eyes fell on his son.

"Watch your tone." He said in warning, his posture tightening.

"NO! I don't care!" He bellowed, "I DON'T—"

His head flew back violently and blood spurted from his lip and nose as Inutaishou floored him with a steel strong fist. Light burst behind Sesshoumaru's eyes when his head hit the ground and he cried out, his vision swimming as he was dazed by the might of it. Inutaishou slammed down on him before he could even process what happened; knees on either side of his son's rib cage, hands and weight pinning his shoulders with crushing strength.

"I WILL NOT BE DISRESPECTED! I don't understand why you are acting like this! You lost your temper with Akina, but **I **will not tolerate such behavior directed at me! I don't know why you're depressed for so long. It's not like it was your fault!"

Sesshoumaru had been growling deep in his chest and glaring furiously up into his father's eyes up until his last statement.

The young demon's blood ran cold and his heart dropped to his knees. He turned his head to the side, his teeth clenching painfully. His eyes squeezed closed as he tried to fight the lump in his throat threatening to choke him. His father stared at him in horror for a second before rising off him and hauling the suddenly pliant young demon to his feet. He put one hand on Sesshoumaru's shoulder and with the other he took his son's chin firmly between his fingers, forcing him to look in his eyes. They were red, but not from anger.

"Gods, Sesshoumaru…you can't think it was your fault…?"

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**A/N: Poor, poor Sessh =( maybe it just took a good clobbering to make him come around. If only this was the end of his problems *sigh***


	12. Sun Rising

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER TWELVE-:-:-:-:-

Sesshoumaru slapped away the hand holding his chin and shrugged away from the other on his shoulder. Inutaishou was too far stunned to register his son's blatant disrespect as slow tears reluctantly formed on Sesshoumaru's lashes and he yelled at his father, his fists curled. Tears fell as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"It WAS my fault! It was, okay? If I was strong enough…if I had just gotten there sooner…!" His voice broke and he turned away. Inutaishou's jaw was dropped fully open, his mind blank for an entire minute before he snapped it shut, fumbling over his words before he got a string out quite clearly.

"**Are you stupid**?" He exclaimed, his eyes wide. "How could you think it's your fault? You did all that you could! If it weren't for you, we might not have even found her body!" He said, holding his son by his shoulders.

"She passed in peace because of your premonitions. If it weren't for you, she would have died a much more painful death." He said, smiling at Sesshoumaru, trying to get him to understand. He knew the last thing Seisha would want was her son wasting away his potential-filled life because of her and an over-stewed notion that he was responsible for her death.

Sesshoumaru shook his head, tears still forming, rolling slowly down his pale cheek.

"Son, you were never the cause of her death. That was inevitable. That was fate. Planned by the afterlife. Regrettably, it was her time to go. You made her passing easier." He said, needing to convince him to see the truth of what he spoke, though he just shook his head faster, then began to struggle away from his father. The daiyoukai held onto his son firmly as the young demon spoke, his voice quaking and stubborn.

"I don't believe you. _I don't believe you!_ I could have stopped her from dying! Damn the fates!" He struggled harder. He needed to get away. He needed to think about things. He knew it was his fault, why was his father trying to tell him lies? Of all the people, his father should be enraged with him the most for letting his mate die. He needed to think…he needed to _get away._

"Sesshoumaru! **STOP**!" Inutaishou bellowed suddenly. Sesshoumaru's ears rang and he ceased struggling, his chest rising and falling as he met his father's eyes. They shone in the reflecting moonlight and Sesshoumaru found that he couldn't look away.

"Listen to me, son. You mother's death was not your fault. And even if it was—which it's not!—do you think she would like you throwing away your life? She would want you to move on. Not to forget her, but to move on and live your life," he said, a miniscule smile creeping onto his face as Sesshoumaru seemed to soak in what he said.

"You did all that you could to save her, but you couldn't. Neither of us could. But what we _did_ do was enough, she was peaceful and surrounded with love when she passed, and that's the best we could give her and that's all she wanted, Sesshoumaru. You gave her what she wanted, you should feel proud!" He declared, his voice warm and sure.

Sesshoumaru looked at him as if he sprouted another head; he had such a look of shock on his face. His eyes didn't move from his father's, but he began to slowly shake his head again. Inutaishou grabbed his chin again and stopped it from moving.

"No! Son, you're not listening to me! I am **not** lying to you! Listen to me! What I'm saying is the truth." He searched his son's eyes, willing him to understand. Their eyes remained locked and Inutaishou could see Sesshoumaru's mind working for long moments.

"I…I don't…" Sesshoumaru muttered, though Inutaishou could see his resolve slowly breaking.

"Son…" Inutaishou growled warningly, not wanting him to regress. Sesshoumaru's looked away; his eyes were a bit clearer, though not sure. His mind was still working.

"Alright." He said suddenly, his eyes looked weary, and not all the way convinced; as if he was pretending to agree just to get his father to release him. "You're right. Mother wouldn't want me to stop my life because of her…she would want me to keep her with me, but move on."

"Yes, son, that's it!" Inutaishou smiled wide. He realized that Sesshoumaru's return to normality would take a long time to be complete, but he was extremely elated about this good turn. He opened his mouth to say something else but Sesshoumaru beat him to it.

"This is the time where you say she will never be gone as long as she's in my heart for ever and ever, right?" A weak smile tugged at his lips, rusty from lack of use over the last seventy five years.

"Right." Inutaishou was positively beaming now; an ear-to-ear affair with gleaming teeth, sparkling eyes, and puffed up chest. "Welcome back!" He grabbed up his son in a stranglehold-hug, embracing him tightly until Sesshoumaru informed him with winded lungs that he couldn't breathe.

"Thank you father, but I still need time to…to pull myself together." Sesshoumaru said quietly, his body still drawn tight to his father's side while the older demon had one arm slung around him.

"Of course! I understand completely." He let go of Sesshoumaru and clapped him on his back. "Have all the time you need. Now get back up to your rooms; I'm sure your servant is worried about you." He winked and pushed him gently in the direction of his room.

When Sesshoumaru made it underneath his balcony, he leapt up onto it, taking hold of the doors' handles and opened them slowly. The sun was due to rise in about fifteen minutes. As he slowly came into the room, the doors swung shut behind him, closing with a muffled _k'chik_.

Miyuki was fixing up his bed, but when Sesshoumaru walked through the doors, his head snapped up, looking curiously at his master.

"…Sesshoumaru?" He blurted, his eyes widening. For once he forgot to address him using his correct title.

"Yeah."

"Are you…okay?" He asked hesitantly, setting down the blankets and sheets he'd been holding.

"Yeah." Sesshoumaru replied, a half-smile tugging his lips, his eyes glittering, the hollowness definitely filled in. Miyuki shamelessly launched himself at the prince, catching the shorter demon in an embrace around his shoulders.

"I was beginning to think you would never return to normal! I was so worried! EVERYONE was! I'm so relieved your back to normal! I thought you were so far gone when you told Akina-sama to leave! I thought that we'd lost you! She will be so happy you're back! What happened? What did you do? Who talked to you? What made you see reason, you thick-skulled little dog?" He beamed, dragging his knuckles vigorously across the crown of Sesshoumaru's head in a robust noogie. He was so overcome that he completely forgot Sesshoumaru was his master and saw him only as a friend.

"My father spoke to me. Miyuki, please!" He ducked out of the servant's arms, fixing his hair. "He made things clear. He showed me that my mother's death wasn't my fault." He said, still calming his frizzed locks. Miyuki's eyes widened further.

"Dear god, you thought it was your fault? How did you ever come to that conclusion?" He knocked the prince on his forehead like he was asking as if anyone was home. Sesshoumaru's heart clenched and he brushed away the hand.

"I don't really want to talk about that just now, it's still kind of…a sensitive issue" Sesshoumaru murmured, rubbing his arm. His eyes glazed a bit, but then he shook his head, clearing the thoughts. "Anyway…"

"Let me guess!" Miyuki exclaimed suddenly, cutting off the young demon. He strode to the balcony and threw open the doors extravagantly. The sun was just rising over the horizon, painting the sky a breathtaking array of colors. He turned, the rays silhouetting him almost completely, but Sesshoumaru could still see his smirky grin sitting on his face. "Is this what you were waiting for? It's been a while." He stepped out of the way as the prince walked out onto the balcony, transfixed.

"How did you know?" He asked quietly, his smile gentle as he leant on the railing, bending and resting his chin on his folded arms, watching the colors mix, combine and spread. Miyuki came up next to him.

"How could I not?" He said smugly, then fell silent though his heart was so full he felt like singing. He was sure Sesshoumaru wouldn't be listening; the demon prince was caught up in the beautiful sun, watching it peek over the hills and spill its rays over his land. When the sun cleared the horizon, he raised his head, still looking at the painted sky until it slowly turned to normal, clear, bright blue.

"I've missed that." He sighed, finally turning from the sun, his eyes sparkling lively. "I can't believe what I convinced myself into thinking."

"What were you thinking?" His eyebrows rose.

"Oh, nothing. I don't want to say, I admit I was quite dramatic…" He flushed embarrassedly.

"Come on, I find it hard to believe you thought something bad about the sunrise at all, it couldn't have been that bad."

"I thought of the sunrise as a chunk of high temperature filtering through layers of filth surrounding the Earth. Forgive me for not finding the beauty in _that _while I was withdrawn." Sesshoumaru told him flatly. Miyuki suppressed a choke to a gentle cough, hiding his laughter.

'_His depression must have been a hell of a lot worse than I thought for him to think that about his favorite part of the day!'_ Miyuki thought mirthfully. He found it funny now that it was all over. He most definitely wouldn't be laughing if Sesshoumaru was depressed.

"Well now, isn't that just a splash of cold water…" The panther chuckled, subtly wiping his hand over his mouth, trying to make his smirk disappear though his jade eyes sparkled. Sesshoumaru scowled.

The word spread like wildfire over the castle that their prince was back to normal and Sesshoumaru found that servants were beaming at him as they passed him in the halls and came in cheery, smiling groups as they answered his summons and such.

oOo

One day, a few months later, Sesshoumaru entered his father's study in a good mood to find the older demon hunched over his desk, poring over papers.

There were a few other demons there; sitting stoically in their chairs with long, grave looks on their faces. They each had long tails that would have probably reached to the backs of their knees, but presently they were folded neatly as they sat. They looked stuck-up and extremely aristocratic and beautiful to the point where Sesshoumaru wasn't sure if they were demon or demoness by the looks of them.

He had a sudden desire to dump a bucket of mud on their laps just to see the snooty old demons squeal and daintily bat at their soiled clothes like old maids. Of course he restrained that desire with an internal laugh, though he did feel that the demons dramatically over-estimated themselves.

Sesshoumaru's mood dampened as his father looked up, his eyes weary.

"Good morning son." He greeted tiredly. Sesshoumaru knew by the looks of the demons in the room and the look of his father's face that something was not right.

"Good morning…" He responded hesitantly. Inutaishou saw his uneasiness and stood from his chair, then gestured to the demons that occupied the room.

"Son, these are the representatives of the Fox Clan. Representatives, this is my son, Sesshoumaru, Prince and heir of the Western Lands. You may sit in on this meeting if you would like." He gestured to an empty chair before he sat and his eyes returned to the parchment in front of him.

The Foxes looked miffed that Inutaishou did not introduce them using their names, and referred to them only as 'representatives', and even more miffed at his almost blatant show of dislike towards them.

"Yes, thank you father." The Fox Clan representatives nodded their heads delicately in acknowledgement and Sesshoumaru returned it, biting down what he would really like to tell the three snobbish foxes about what he actually thought of them.

As he sat and the meeting continued, Sesshoumaru surmised from what they spoke about that a war was close to breaking out between the Foxes and Bears, two main clans in the Western Lands. The foxes had come to the Western Castle to ask permission to attack. It was important that the Lord be on top of all disagreement and clashes amongst his lands.

The Foxes were more level-headed than the Bear Clan, but they were also devious and sneaky. By coming to the Lord, the Foxes got in good graces, which put Lord Inutaishou on their side as far as they were concerned.

The Bears would have never done that, they were physical; ready to duke it out when the going got rough, not make sneaky, underhanded plans that cemented them on firm footing.

They were more honest and valued loyalty and truth and purity in spirit above all else and they strongly protected what they believed in to the point of arrogance in most cases. To back that up, they were excellent fighters and in their true forms the Bears towered over twenty feet in height and, needless to say, they were extremely strong.

Inutaishou was well aware of the foxes' dealings and told them not to start the war unnecessarily, already knowing that their asking was a ruse. Foxes would rarely dirty their hands with combative fighting like they would have to do if they fought the Bears. They used their trickery and cunning to their advantage. On top of that, he also refused to protect them if the Bears lost their tempers, which was a good possibility as it happened to be a reasonably short fuse to begin with.

In coming to the Western Castle to see their lord, the Foxes were hoping that along with telling them not to fight, he would protect them if the Bears did indeed lose their temper. It was like when someone really doesn't want to fight, but then threatens to anyway, expecting someone to hold them back so they had an excuse for not fighting without looking like wimps.

Inutaishou had exposed them; they were neither protected nor told not to fight. He only told them not to begin the war lashing out first and try their best to pacify the conflicts. Either that or pull out the stops and fight for all they were worth for their territory if the Bears were intent on it.

Now don't get me wrong, the Bears were not so incredibly dumb that they were just going to fall blind to the foxes' plans, but it was them that started the disagreements in the first place. They were pushing up on Fox territory, which was a big no no. Foxes coveted and held onto things that were theirs; by nature they were very possessive.

In the big picture, yes, Lord Inutaishou had strict reign over his lands and tried to keep things peaceful, but hell, they were still demons and there was only so much the Lord was entitled to do and Inutaishou had already exceeded it.

If the Bear Clan was pushing for more territory, then there must have been some kind of reasoning for it. Like maybe their population was growing or there was a drought or famine in a section of their land and needed to expand.

Whatever the reason, the Foxes would just have to give it up, or hold their own. If things got out of hand and the dissension was disturbing the rest of the Western Lands, or one clan was coming close to extinction, then Inutaishou would step in and ease the conflict, but all else would have to be settled between them.

When Inutaishou told them this, they looked taken aback and huffed indignantly at his lack of help. One of them stood, he had long soft hair of golden brown and his green eyes flashed with suppressed anger.

"Well, I see you will not lend us help as our lands are being viciously taken over," said the Fox haughtily. The other two seemed mildly surprised at his brazenness, but stood up also. "We will handle this ourselves," he said, sticking his nose in the air. Inutaishou shrugged, stood up and opened the door for them.

Before they stepped out into the corridor, he told them that he would send a messenger to the Bears and give them the same suggestion to encourage peace. As they left, a servant appeared to guide them out of the castle. Inutaishou shut the door and immediately rolled his eyes.

"What a bunch of drama queens." He muttered, and then turned to Sesshoumaru, a smile hinting his lips. "Eh, son?"

"I agree with you whole heartedly, sir." Sesshoumaru responded with a snobbish tone, mocking the Foxes. He then laughed and Inutaishou joined him, chuckling deeply.

"So what was it that you came to me for? I know you didn't really want to stay for the conference." The lord said, walking to the balcony door and throwing them open, letting the midmorning sun drown the room with light.

"I came to tell you that I am going to visit the North, tell Akina I've come to my senses, and beg for forgiveness. I was horrible to her. I'll be pleased if she even talks to me." Sesshoumaru stood from his chair and his father nodded his approval.

"Yes, I think it's about time she came back. Everything's just a bit brighter when she's around." Inutaishou said warmly.

"I Agree. I'll be setting off tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll return with our little sunspot." He laughed and stepped closer to the door, opening and turning back to his father. "Are you going to come down and eat? It's been days since you've last had something."

"Yes, Yes, I'm coming."

oOo

The next day, early in the morning, Sesshoumaru waved goodbye to Inutaishou as he set off for the Northern Lands. He bounded over the Main Gates and took his time getting to the Northern Lands. There was no great rush after all, and he still needed time to come up with a good apology for Akina.

He came upon the North, got passed all the barriers (Akina had shown him how), and was half way through the valley. A guard that had been patrolling the outer borders escorted him to the inner valley. There seemed to be a smaller number of playful foals bounding about and the guard, the one who he had met when he first came to the valley, was abnormally silent and hadn't sent one word to Sesshoumaru since he found him.

The young demon was worried if the unicorns were mad at him for upsetting Akina. When they got to the palace, the guard that had been leading him stopped and motioned for him to go inside, then trotted away to return to his post on the outer skirts of the valley. Sesshoumaru gulped and began to enter the palace. He was surprised to see that Akina was already there to greet him.

"Good afternoon, Sesshoumaru-kun, how are you?" She said mildly. Her eyes were trained on him intently, with a small fire burning behind them. He gulped, yet had a hopeful feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't feel right out anger coming from her per se…it was more like expectance mixed with only a bit of anger.

He approached her meekly, with his eyes apologetic.

"Hello, Akina. I've been well…I, uh, I'm very sorry about what I said to you, I just snapped, but I should have controlled myself better. I wasn't angry with you, I was upset with myself and I took it out others. After you left, I actually yelled at my father and he nearly knocked my teeth out for it…" He paused here as Akina took a sharp intake of breath, her eyes widening fractionally.

"I am so sorry Akina, what I did was horribly wrong and I missed you immensely after I returned to myself but I needed to sort things out completely before I came here, Akina, do you forgive me? …Will you come back with me?" He held his breath and waited. She considered him for a few seconds before she smiled and Sesshoumaru slumped in relief.

"Of course, Sesshie-kun, but I do have bad news." She said. His eyes cleared of happiness and looked at her, blinking.

"Bad news? What kind of bad news?" He asked tiredly, his voice apprehensive.

"My parents want me to stay here. But just for a while!" She added the last part as Sesshoumaru's jaw dropped. "I need to be formally trained in unicorn magic, Sesshoumaru, and I need to be taught how to run the Northern Lands for the day when they are mine." She looked at him worriedly. "You understand don't you? Only for about a century…and I'll come and visit you. I promise the time will pass shortly, and then we can spend lots of time together." She assured him, patting his shoulder.

"I…I understand. This is reasonable, of course. You need to be trained, I understand." He said, his voice forcibly solid. She gave him a sidelong look.

"You sure? You could stay here for a while, you know." She suggested.

"No, no, I'll let you study in peace, I'll only be a bother and since mother is…well now that father is working everything by himself, I need to be there to help." He said. "I'll just spend the night here, is that okay?"

"Of course! I'll get you a spare room!" She turned toward the halls. Suddenly, a form shot towards them. Akina let out an 'Eep!' of surprise and quickly sidestepped as the body bulleted passed her and rammed right into Sesshoumaru. Arms wrapped around his middle and a face pressed happily against his chest.

"Sesshoumaru-niichan! You've come to visit!"

"Yes, Koemi, good to see you…" Sesshoumaru wheezed as the unicorn's arms tightened like a vice around his ribs. He gently pried off the energetic boy that was slightly younger than himself and took deep breaths, forcing air back into his lungs.

"Oniichan, how long are you staying?" Koemi's bright voice matched his eyes in equal luminosity and he flashed a big grin.

"Sorry, only for the night." He told the unicorn, ruffling his deep golden hair until it fell messily into his emerald eyes. He just swept it aside so he could see; unfazed by the mussing where as Sesshoumaru himself would have been seething.

"Aw, that's all? Why don't you stay longer?" He pried. His jade orbs were large and inquisitive.

"That's enough, Koemi!" Akina chided lightly, wagging her finger. "You shouldn't bother with people's personal issues."

"But, Oneechan…" He pouted his professionally crafted pout, the one that got him out of so many other little mischiefs he'd been in over the years. It didn't phase Akina one bit.

"Sorry, Oniichan…" He said flatly, the brightness dimming in his eyes before flaring up again. "Oniichan, do you want to stay in my rooms?"

"Koemi!" Akina cut off Sesshoumaru as he was about to accept. "You know that's not necessary, there are many guest rooms. Go tell Mama and Papa that Sesshoumaru will be staying the night, alright?" She said sharply, pointing her finger down the corridor by which he'd come.

"Alright, alright." He slumped and went to find their parents. Once he was gone, Akina grumble audibly.

"Little brothers." She groused, shaking her head. "So annoying."

"I don't know about that. I'd love to have a younger brother! I could teach him to fight, and we could both practice with father, and maybe we'd be able to actually beat him…and we could grow strong together and be unstoppable! I think it'd be wonderful." Sesshoumaru mused, his eyes gentle.

"Ha. Feel free to borrow Koemi then."

"You know you love him!" Sesshoumaru laughed, looking down at her. She cracked a smile.

"Yes I know."

"So how about that room?" The Dog Demon reminded, nudging her with his elbow.

"Ah! Yes, this way."

Akina showed him the rooms that he could use and suggested that they spent the rest of the day reading out in the gardens until the sun fell. Akina was an avid reader and Sesshoumaru wasn't opposed to books either.

They lay out on the soft warm grass, surrounded by unicorns, foals, and palace guards. The stream running through the valley sparkled in sunlight and the two read books from Akina's library. Sesshoumaru was fascinated by them and read through them quickly, a pile of finished tomes slowly growing at his side next to Akina's which was equally formidable.

When the sun set, Sesshoumaru looked about. There appeared to be a golden glow covering everything and seemed to be coming from the unicorns themselves. The playing foals had all laid down to rest, hidden by the tall flowers of the patches they slept in. Suddenly Akina yawned, followed by Sesshoumaru and they mutually decided to get some sleep.

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**JA NE!**


	13. Clouds Enclosing

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER THIRTEEN-:-:-:-:-

When the sun peeked over the gently sloping hills of the valley, Sesshoumaru had already left his room and situated himself right in the center of the small bridge built over the sparkling river winding through the green misty valley. He was on his back with his arms stuck behind his head, looking contentedly up into the sky, a pensive, meditative look in his glowing molten eyes. Suddenly Akina's head swung into his field of vision. He jumped slightly then sat up with her plopping down at his side, giggling.

"Hey, don't scare me like that!" He chided, frowning delicately, then returned his gaze to the horizon.

"So are you leaving today?" She asked, watching the sun rise in the distance.

"Yes, I'll leave later. Maybe around midday."

As the day wore on, Sesshoumaru thought it would be best if he set off soon, so he hugged his second family goodbye.

"See you soon, Akina. And when I do, I expect you to be strong! Be ready for a test!" He pumped his fist in the air teasingly as he took off, and disappeared over the valley hills.

He had a content trip back to his home, but when he got there, he found things in disarray. As he slowly stumbled through the Entrance Hall doors, servants where milling about wildly; the whole place was in chaos. As he was looking around, one of the servants jolted into his shoulder. Sesshoumaru growled but the servant continued hurrying along his way without as much as a backwards glance.

He frowned deeply and leapt over the sea of swarming servants until he was at the stairs that led up to his father's study where he thought he might be. Servants and advisors in the corridor seemed to try their best to go around him, but there wasn't much room and a many bumped into him. His temper was growing more and more as his last nerve was waiting to snap but he made it through the corridors to his father's study. He reached quickly for the handle, but it was suddenly thrown open and a wave of army demons came pouring out in a large mass, their armor clinking and rattling against the others'. They rammed into Sesshoumaru and he was shunted back.

Well…so much for his last nerve.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" He bellowed, almost being carried away by the raging river of demons exiting his father's study. He got his feet solidly on the marble floor and held his ground until the flow stopped in a few seconds. His temper was teetering on the edge of another outburst as he stormed into Inutaishou's study.

"Father-!" He began angrily, but was cut off.

"I cannot talk right now." Shot the older demon, not even looking up from his desk. He was looking over a paper and had an expression of extreme frustration on his face.

"What do you mean? What's going on around here, father? Some emergency must have happened and I should know what it was!" He glared at his father and suddenly the older demon looked up, his eyes hot with a wild look.

"Sesshoumaru, go to your chambers. Your servant will tell you what you need to know!" He snapped, returning to the paper in front of him.

"Father!"

"Go!" His fist slammed to the polished wood of his desk. Sesshoumaru snarled under his breath and swept out of the room in a blaze of anger. In the corridors, he pushed servants out of his way, not letting them even get close to him. When he got to his room, he yanked open the doors and promptly bellowed for Miyuki. The Panther Demon appeared instantly, looking flustered as well.

"Yes, Prince Sesshoumaru?" He bowed low, looking a bit frightful of his master. The young prince's molten eyes where smoldering.

"What's going on? Why is the castle in chaos?" He asked lowly. "What happened?"

"The Bears have begun the war. There was a disagreement in the conference between them and it broke out right there. The foxes at the meeting where killed and important clan leaders died." He let Sesshoumaru digest the information.

"So then father…"

"Lord Inutaishou will go to the clans himself and he must be almost constantly making rounds around the Western Lands to ease the impact. The Foxes and Bears must both be preserved. One clan, or both, could be extinct as there are not many Bear Demons left as it is. As you know this is the only clan left in Japan, the same with the Foxes." Miyuki continued, "Lord Inutaishou must either settle the conflicts or expand the Western Lands and that will cause a lot of uproar with the other lords."

Through all of that, Sesshoumaru was stuck on one thing.

"He'll be constantly on rounds?" He asked, his eyes looked dull, like someone had poured a bucket of water on the fire that had been there only a few short moments before.

"Yes, unfortunately so, my Prince. He…will not be here very often anymore." Miyuki's eyes looked apologetically at Sesshoumaru. The young demon's eyes lowered to the floor, but suddenly snapped up when the door opened and Inutaishou came in, his face gentle.

"Miyuki." He said flatly, his eyes on Sesshoumaru. The Panther took the hint and left after giving the lord a bow.

"Father, I…I understand what you must do to preserve the Western Lands, but I don't like it. I don't want you to be away from the castle for so long! I want to come with you." He said, his eyes firm even though he pretty much knew the answer.

"No, you can't." Inutaishou said. Sesshoumaru was surprised at the amount of regret in his voice. He was surprised because there was none. "Son, you are growing up and your mother passing away has put everything on my shoulders; you're going to have to help me. I'll be out of the castle so you're going to have to run it." The lord was looking at Sesshoumaru unsympathetically.

"But father, I don't know how to run the Western Lands!"

"You'll figure it out. I must leave. I need to get to the clans as soon as possible." And without so much as a goodbye, or a pat on the back, or a ruffle to his hair, Inutaishou left Sesshoumaru standing numbly. His knees weakened and he fell back on his bed, his eyes still wide and staring.

Even though he would have never admitted it, he felt neglected and abandoned. He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and rubbed, trying to rid them of tension and continued to stare at the ceiling.

"_What's happening?"_ He thought with remorse, "_Why is everything falling apart? First mother passed, and now father is treating me like a castle servant. He's too busy for his son, it's like he doesn't even care about me…_" His hands dragged over his face. He would never admit this either, but even after the time it had been since his mother passed, he was still so sensitive about it, and he was still weak from it mentally.

"_Demon fathers are not usually as close with their children as father has been with me. Maybe it was mother who made him care…and now that she's gone, maybe this is how father really is…maybe he was only acting like he cared for me all these years because he loved mother and wanted to make her happy…no…no, that can't be true. Father does love me just fine, I'm sure. I can't let myself be weak. If father will care for me in the same manner as other demon fathers, then that's fine, but I won't sacrifice the Western Lands. They will be mine someday and I need to learn how to run them anyway. I'll do this and I'll do it well despite how father will choose to treat me. I swear it."_ He sat up in his bed, his clawed hands on either side of him gripping the sheets, uncaringly ripping the fabric. So be it.

He was in charge now, while his father went and played peacemaker. He opened his door and was met again by the mighty bustling of the busy corridor. He made his way, without any servants running into him, to his father's study. He looked around, his eyes hard like ice. They rested on the chair behind the desk he went to it and sat down, looking over all the papers on the desk. There were so many. Doubt fleeted into his mind, but he pushed it away firmly.

The door opened and Miyuki stepped in.

"Hello, my Prince. Your father has assigned me as your retainer; I'll help you with anything that you need to know about running the western lands." Sesshoumaru looked up at Miyuki with relief well hidden in his eyes.

"Tell me what these papers are for." Sesshoumaru demanded brusquely. This took Miyuki by surprise. Usually Sesshoumaru would start out telling him not to call him by his title, and Sesshoumaru had never given him such a gruff order. Of course he didn't comment on this, because that was how servants were usually supposed to be treated. Still, he watched Sesshoumaru closely through the next few hours as he explained how to take care of the Western Lands. Sesshoumaru was then quiet as he worked on the mounds of paper. His brow was creased in concentration, but he never asked for help.

While Miyuki sat in one of the chairs patiently incase Sesshoumaru did need him, he thought of all the things that had suddenly changed in only the past few days. He didn't know how not having his father around would affect Sesshoumaru, but he knew it wouldn't be good in any way, shape, or form.

He could already see Sesshoumaru's personality changing. He was becoming withdrawn, but not like he was before. It was like he had suddenly matured in the past few hours, and reacted to things completely different than he would have a few centuries ago. That in itself was fine, but the fact that it happened so quickly was what worried Miyuki.

A servant came in, relaying a message to Sesshoumaru and handed him another document. The prince nodded and dismissed the demon whereas before he would have rightfully groaned at the added on work, but taken it all in stride. The adjustment wasn't bad, but it was indeed abrupt.

Word was constantly coming in about Inutaishou and what he was doing. Sesshoumaru never even reacted when the news was heard, he was not happy when his father made a success and he was not upset when there was another outbreak of fighting between the clans. He was not rude or angry but he wasn't sad either, it was so weird; Miyuki was just as worried for him as he was when his mother died.

…

Sesshoumaru was about a year into being the owner of the castle when Inutaishou dropped by, with only enough time to stay for a few hours.

"Son!" He exclaimed cheerfully, rushing into his own study where Sesshoumaru was. "I had a bit of spare time, so I rushed over here to see how things are going." He stopped in front of his desk, Sesshoumaru was behind it, looking down at a scroll which had fresh writing all the way down its length and he was still scratching away. Inutaishou's face froze in the form of a smile as he watched his son not even look up to greet him.

"That's wonderful, father." He replied in a deadpan voice, still not looking up. "Things are just fine." He moved his hand over the desk, ruffled expertly through some papers, stopped and looked at one, then continued writing. Inutaishou's smile slowly slipped as he watched his son, his insides feeling cold.

"How about you take a break, so we can catch up? I've been away for a while, I missed being here." His eyes were focused on Sesshoumaru, watching him closely. He still didn't look up.

"I'm sorry, father, but I'm busy." Sesshoumaru replied calmly again, still writing. Inutaishou felt himself getting angry, but he kept it carefully covered and tried to keep things light.

"Well, that's alright, we can just talk here, right?" He sat gracefully in one of the chairs, his face grim underneath his cheery mask. "So, where is Akina? Did she not come back with you the last time you went?" He asked casually, his hands on his knees.

"She needed to stay in the Northern Lands to train and begin to learn how to run her own lands."

"Ah, yes, that's good then; I've heard that unicorn magic is very intricate and hard to learn. Have you talked to her since then?" He was sure Sesshoumaru would say yes, but he was just trying to keep him talking.

"No, I haven't." He answered evenly. Inutaishou's eyebrows rose so high they were in danger of disappearing into his hairline.

"Really?" This wasn't really a question because he knew Sesshoumaru wasn't joking. He was on full guard now. Whenever something was seriously wrong, Sesshoumaru pushed away the people he loved, and Akina was the closest person to him, besides his father.

"Really." His voice had a cold edge to it. Inutaishou was silent for a minute as he evaluated his son. He was withdrawn, but not like how he was before, this was different. He was functioning well, but he was disconnected as if he was working through a fog. He studied his son's turned-down face as he continued writing on the scroll. His eyes were no longer wide and sparkling with good nature and almost child-like innocence. They were more serene, calm, and made him look centuries older than he actually was.

In fact, they now resembled Inutaishou's own eyes almost exactly and he didn't know if he liked that, considering how much younger Sesshoumaru was than him.

"Sesshoumaru…are you alright?" Inutaishou asked in the same casual manner, though his eyes examined him discreetly.

"Yes of course, father, I'm fine." He said calmly, "If I seem different to you, I've been told that I've become more mature. I feel the same, but apparently others do not think I am, but I assure you, I'm fine." He finally looked up, studying the expression of light shock on his father's face coolly. Inutaishou looked over him again.

The daiyoukai did indeed see that Sesshoumaru's eyes reflected a much more mature demon, and his voice was also deeper, only fractionally, but enough to be able to tell it. While he was wondering whether he should indeed be worried about this change, or if it was for the best that Sesshoumaru was growing up, the young demon in question stood smoothly from his chair. He held such a regal bearing that Inutaishou blinke in surprise.

The lord thought it was amazing that as adult Sesshoumaru was now, his body was still slightly gangly like a human teenager, with long legs and arms and shoulders that were only just beginning to broaden fully. And seeing this, he made up his mind that it _was _a bad thing that his son was forced into adulthood so quickly when it should have still been about a century off.

He knew it was a problem, but there was no way to avoid it. He had to be on rounds constantly so the important clans of the west didn't kill each other. Sesshoumaru couldn't take that job and Inutaishou needed someone he could trust to take care of the castle and some of the other smaller business going on in the lands. At the time, he thought it worked out pretty well, seeing as Sesshoumaru needed to learn how to run the lands, but apparently he had been wrong, very, very wrong.

Instead of providing him useful life lessons, he was robbing the young demon of his life that should be spent having fun and training, and finding young love maybe. After all, he met Seisha when he was around Sesshoumaru's age. Maybe a bit older, but still, he didn't have Sesshoumaru's responsibilities when he was his age.

Sesshoumaru came around the desk with the paper he was writing on. He rolled it up and tied it, then snapped his finger. Miyuki appeared at his side, took the scroll and disappeared with a bow and not so much as a word.

Inutaishou also found this odd. Sesshoumaru had always treated his servant more as a friend, but this display was not friendly at all. It was as if he was just another servant to Sesshoumaru. So Miyuki was number two on the list of close friends that Sesshoumaru had apparently pushed away. He wondered if he was going to be next on that list.

Inutaishou stood, blocking Sesshoumaru's way as he turned to sit back down behind the desk. His eyes were sharp as they traveled up to his father's. Inutaishou smiled disarmingly and took his son by the shoulders. Sesshoumaru tensed up and a growl began to pull from his throat, but Inutaishou spoke over it.

"How about we go train, eh? Let me see how much you've grown physically, because by god, I think you've surpassed me mentally!" He joked, steering Sesshoumaru out of the study through his obvious attempts to dislodge himself from under his father's arm.

Finally, Sesshoumaru was dragged outside, and had a sword tossed to him. He caught it deftly and sighed before pushing it into the sash tied around his waist, and then he pulled the blade and held it firmly at his side, his face impassive. Inutaishou, who had Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga both on his waist and So'unga on his back, took one of the training swords and held it with a jovial expression as he turned and faced his son.

Sesshoumaru suddenly rushed his father, his teeth clenched as their blades met. Sesshoumaru braced himself and pushed off, slashing his father's sword aside. Before the daiyoukai could retaliate, he twisted in midair landing a hard roundhouse kick on the side of his father's head. The older demon fumbled a few steps, and then caught himself, one hand lightly pressed to the side of his head; the look on his face was astonished, but not pained. The kick hadn't hurt him, but the thing that threw Inutaishou was that Sesshoumaru was actually trying to.

He studied Sesshoumaru's face as the young demon landed lightly on his feet about twenty yards away. His eyes where hard, as if he were facing a real enemy. None the less, Inutaishou straightened and smiled, his hand dropping from the side of his head.

"That's good form, son, but I didn't think we were fighting so seriously." He held his sword out and focused his energy, soon blue-fire ki was licking the blade but his smile was still playful. "Time to turn it up a notch?" Since he was not using a demonic blade, all the power coursing through it was his alone. Sesshoumaru knew he did not have enough power to extend it to a weapon yet, and if he tried it would just drain him.

He started thinking maybe he shouldn't have struck his father as the demon lord disappeared then reappeared behind him, faster than lighting. His heart was thumping as he swung around, eyes wide.

Not there.

He heard movement behind him and turned again, and suddenly there was a blade in his face, the sharp tip only half a millimeter from his skin, and positioned perfectly between his wide golden eyes. The fiery blue aura tickled his skin at first but then began to burn. He froze. Damn. The demonic energy around the blade dissipated and Inutaishou laughed, carefully lowering the blade.

"Now, now, don't look so surprised." He slowly withdrew the sword and Sesshoumaru relaxed, but the hand around his own sword tightened and he found himself lunging forward. His blade slammed into his father's at their side, and his face was in Inutaishou's. Behind him, Sesshoumaru's hand started glowing, and his poison whip began extending from his fingers. Inutaishou saw this and frowned.

The daiyoukai caught Sesshoumaru's wrist firmly and with the other hand smashed his son's blade so hard with his own that it was wrenched from his hand. He twisted his arms and pushed him down face first into the grass.

"That would have been cheating, son." He said softly, his eyes burning bright though more with fascination than anger. "I think we should end this here, I need to be going." He got to his feet and stood over Sesshoumaru. The young demon untwisted his arms from behind his back and sat up, his eyes downcast.

"Goodbye, father." He said, his voice was almost expressionless, but Inutaishou could see some anger in them. He nodded, turned and walked away, leaving his son sitting there with his thoughts in turmoil.

"_Foolish!"_ He berated himself instantly, feeling for all the world that he should knock his forehead against the castle wall a few times. "_Why is it when father shows up, suddenly I'm acting like a child again? What in the world made me try to attack him like that?" _His mind was whirling with anger, but outwardly, he only frowned slightly, studying the ground from the position he still held in the grass.

"_Why? Why did I think that I could win? Why would I attempt to cheat, even thinking that would make a difference? On the other hand, I was beaten so easily. Am I that far away from obtaining power that rivals father? Oh, what's that supposed to mean? Of course I am! All I did was make a fool of myself. Just showed how much of a spoiled, impertinent, arrogant brat I am. I'm not mature, I'm just a fool." _His frown blackened and he stood swiftly.

"But not for long." He said to himself under his breath as he strode evenly towards the entrance to the castle, his practice sword left discarded. "I will be disciplined no matter what it takes."

…

A few more years along the line found Sesshoumaru in the same spot he'd been beaten by his father some time before, though this time it was he who was pointing his sword between the eyes of his partner.

When he finished his training, and he was striding back to the castle, he thought of the things that he needed to do that day.

There were small complaints from minute clans of demon who report famine and other such problems that he needed to take care of. There was also the human village that was nagging him about some demon that was terrorizing them and they wanted help before more were killed. Later on, he also needed to retrieve some documents that his father kept in his chambers.

He arrived in his study, now claimed by him so it was no longer his father's, and tried to get through the work. He was fidgeting and restless. He toyed with his special ink pen between his fingers and stared out of the open balcony from his seat.

He had been overseeing the Western Lands for a bit over three years now, but it felt like much longer. On top of doing the grunt work of paper and document handling, he still had to make rounds.

Inutaishou was out there, constantly on rounds, but he mostly stayed around the Bear and Fox clans, working with them. That left the rest of the West to Sesshoumaru.

He often thought this arrangement wasn't fair. He felt as if he were doing more work than the actual lord of the Western Lands. But he also knew there was no way around it. Plus, the consultants and the many retainers Sesshoumaru had, kept him informed about the many things he must do.

They also filtered the paperwork and took care of the unimportant things, and only the significant documents moved up to him for his consent, authorization, or signature.

He was also on a timed schedule for things like training, sleeping, eating, paperwork, rounds, classes and the small amount of time set for leisure if he was lucky. He felt so used; like his life wasn't even his own anymore. But he knew this was how it was going to be. The reality was that his life was _not_ his own, it belonged to the Western Lands. But he didn't like it, and was thinking that when his reign fell into place, long, long into the future, he would have a few changes in store.

But presently, he snapped out of his thoughts, noticing that his ink pen had made a large black splotch on his pants where he had accidentally held it suspended while thinking. He rolled his eyes at his own carelessness and stood to go change.

Afterwards, when he came out of his room and began to return to his study, he figured it would be convenient to just pick up the documents he needed from his father's chambers while he was out and about already. He turned on his heel and walked down the long hallway, halfway to his father's rooms, three retainers suddenly appeared behind him, walking fast and talking faster.

"Sir, you don't have time to be walking about, you need to return to your study and finish—"

"I'm just getting the documents from father's chambers." Sesshoumaru told the one that had spoken. The demon had a scroll in his hands which held his schedule. All six feet of it. He hated that his every move was made for him. He resented that his life from day to day had to be scheduled, programmed, planned, modulated, timed, and enforced. The only one he found he could rely on to give him some breathing room was Miyuki. His faithful personal servant who served as almost everything to him always helped in these kinds of situations.

The voices of the three retainers behind him were grating on his nerves and he didn't feel like shouting at them. He turned on then and suddenly snapped his fingers. Miyuki instantly appeared behind him, hands on his hips. The tall panther looked over Sesshoumaru's head to send a glower at the three standing before him. He stared them down, his jade eyes flaring.

"What have I told you about harassing Prince Sesshoumaru?" He asked angrily. Sesshoumaru looked up at him with relief evident in his tired eyes. "He knows what he must do, now stop pestering! All of you!" He made a shoo-ing motion with his hands and the disgruntled demons reluctantly withdrew, the one holding Sesshoumaru's schedule rolled it up with a snap and turned on his heel and stalked away. Sesshoumaru turned to face Miyuki, looking so relieved that he could have hugged him.

"I'm sorry, my Prince, they take their jobs very seriously and I can't corral them all, sometimes they slip away." He smiled in joke and put a hand gently on Sesshoumaru's lower back, indicating him to continue walking.

"Yes, it's fine. They're just a small bother after all." He said absently. Miyuki could hear his detachment.

"May I ask where you were going that made the vultures start circling?"

"I was only going to father's chambers to pick up some papers."

"I see. Well, I'll leave you be then. Call if you need me." Miyuki said, Sesshoumaru looked over to say bye but the panther was already gone. He shrugged and went on his way. When he came to his father's chambers he easily pushed open the door and went in.

He went straight to the desk to shuffle through the documents. He paused when he stubbed his finger on a book, not expecting the harder object amongst the chaos of papers before him. He frowned and parted the papers to see the book. It was standard size and bound in deep brown leather. The thick book's pages where gilded on the outside, so it shone like precious metal when it was closed.

He flipped it over curiously in his hands. It had no title and no identifying marks besides a tiny, tiny emblem on the upper left corner on the back of it. It was of a rearing dog on its hind legs, encircled by a crescent moon. He unconsciously brought a hand up and rubbed his own crescent moon. The book looked old and aged, indicating that it must have been passed down.

Curiously he flipped it over again and tried to open it. He made a small sound in the back of his throat as he received a small shock of energy and reflexively dropped the book. He blinked with surprise then shook his head to clear it. He picked it up again, cautiously this time, and looked over it, his eyes reproachful. He tried to open it again and received the same jolt. This time he was ready for it so it didn't startle him. It stopped shortly after it started, but now he was curious why it wouldn't let him read it. He was heir after all.

He shrugged and put it down carefully. He'd ask his father the next time he came around. Presently, he gathered the papers he needed and left.

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**JA NE!**


	14. The Fateful Meeting

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER FOURTEEN-:-:-:-:-

In the Unicorn Valley, Akina had just started her training. It began with heavy meditation that would sometimes last weeks, non-stop, just sitting in an uncomfortable position, trying to 'find your inner power'. Akina was having trouble just sitting still enough to not be scolded by her sensei.

Still, she had not made any leeway on finding her inner whatever and was getting frustrated with it.

With much agitation and frustration, she made it through the meditation stage and moved onto physical strength. She started off on her fist day with four laps around the valley. She then had lessons, starting with archery. Her and her sensei went through a wide variety of weapons to see which one would be her primary and she found she liked very much the bow and arrow.

Then came the actual magic training. Of course, everything started out slow. For a few weeks she had to study the element she was going to master first; Water. She would sit on the shores of large springs or lakes and meditate to understand her element. She learned how it moved, acted, reacted and what the purpose of the element was. Water was healing and calmness and rationality, but it could also be firm discipline and stubbornness.

She learned how to flow her own energy into the element and weave it together, gently asking to borrow control. Next came Air, then Earth, then Fire. The order was of natural tendency to resist control. Water was very pliant, Air was more random and free spirited, Earth was stubborn and Fire was the most unpredictable element.

It was a wonderful thing that Akina was an amazingly quick study and gained control of the four elements in only a year and a half, earning the title 'young genius'. No one had ever mastered the elements that quickly in so short a time in over thousands of years.

Akina was beginning study on weather control when Koemi started his training. They were only about a century apart and he was always trying to outdo her. He blew through the meditation stage quickly, because he was more disciplined in being able to sit still, but when it came to training, he was a bit of a klutz.

His primary weapon came to be the very unusual cutlass, brought from the continent. And even more unusual, he was amazing with it, but only as long as he was using two of them. The discovery that he was ambidextrous had been highly praised. But, due to the fact that he was a bit more clumsy than most, his training was proceeding at average level. He had astonishing strength, and shocking accuracy; he could hit a moving target with his eyes closed, but his footwork was shoddy. Average footwork was mostly alright when you had a long-range weapon, but with swords, it was a must.

Akina helped him train and improve this and eventually he did. His agility was up to par and Akina had made a lot of progress in weather. She could coax rain from the sky and twist errant winds into raging tornadoes. Her progress was the highlight of the valley.

They even cleared a private training ground for her. This, though, was more of a safety for them. Her storms where extremely vehement and one she began work on hurricanes, they would have had to do something anyway. And even with her personal training ground, the storms still overflowed to the valley, though they only got gentle rains.

One day she was out in her private training ground, working up a storm, literally. Her arms were held up to the sky and power crackled around her form, bursting in pops in the air, her air whipped about her as her winds picked up. A storm was a compilation of all the elements. The rain, the howling winds, the lighting and thunder, and charges in the ground that attracted them. Thunder and lightning were unpredictable, though, and once the storm started, they were often out of the maker's control.

But today, she felt like she could do it. She was going to form a hurricane and control it. She was soaked as the rain came down in sheets and shivered as the gale force winds threatened to blow her away. She centered the storm, clearing the eye of the forming hurricane. She clashed warm air with cold air and was rewarded with an instant swirl of cyclone winds. She stood in the eye and made powerful sweeping motions with his arms and the winds grew and added to the hurricane. Thunder clapped in the sky and lighting struck almost constantly around her, though she was safe in the middle.

She was breathing so hard by the time she felt the winds pick up enough. She knew they were now at the right speed to be a strong hurricane. She dropped her arms and let the winds continue motion on their own. She slipped to her knees, smiling up at the storm raging around her, the dark sky giving her satisfaction. She let the hurricane rage for a few hours, keeping it in one place until the winds slowed. She raised her arms and calmed the storm in a matter of minutes, then rested on the drying grass, lying back in the sun.

A few hours after she completed her first hurricane, her father summoned her to his study. She was met with an embrace and though she was incredibly tired, she smiled happily into her father's chest as he crushed her.

"What is it Papa?" She asked, her violet eyes shining.

"Akina, you know I am exceedingly proud of you." He began fondly, holding her shoulders gently. Akina nodded; her expression anxious. "And well, your mother and I have been talking about this for a while, but we think you should go for the next level."

"What is the next level?" Excitement clearly rung in her voice, and her eyes brimmed wonder and eagerness.

"We think you should study lightning." He said with a smile. Akina was speechless; she stared up at her father with her mouth hanging open slightly. "Come now, Akina." He put his finger under her chin and closed her mouth, her teeth coming together with a small snap.

"B-but, Papa! That's the hardest element! You and Mama are the only ones that can do it!" She muttered.

"And now we want you to learn, we both know you can. It will take a long time, but we know you can. You've mastered everything else faster than most Unicorns learn to command Earth. You are the Valley's prodigy, and we will help you every step of the way." She nodded numbly. "For now, your mother and I have scrolls that we learned from when we were studying and we want you to use them. There are also many books in the library that you can use, alright?" She stared at him for a few more moments, and then her smile broke out into a grin.

"Yes, Papa! I'm so excited! I'll go start now!" She kissed her father on his cheek and bounced from the room. Lord Konatsu watched her go, beaming.

oOo

Sesshoumaru was fully adjusted to running the west smoothly by the time he was six hundred and eighty years old. He began thinking of his seventh birthday, which would make him seven hundred human years old.

He wondered whether his father would be able to come by. He hadn't so much as seen him since the last time…

He was sitting in his study, having finished his paper work for the day, but because he was set for a specific time for it, he had to wait until that time was up and he could eat something, and then begin his rounds. Rounds took, on average, about four days and his schedule allowed him time to eat only once a week and a half, and was scheduled to decrease to every two weeks when he was older.

He toyed with his pen for a while before a consultant poked his head into the room.

"Are you finished, Prince Sesshoumaru?" He asked. Sesshoumaru nodded and stood; his eyes dull. "Your meal has been caught, Sir." He nodded again and left the room tailed by the demon that had a copy of his schedule and was looking it over. "After, you have a few minutes to gather needed supplies and then you start on your rounds, Sir."

"Yes, I know." Sesshoumaru said, a tiny rumble of agitation lacing his voice.

"Yes, Sir." The servant disappeared from over his shoulder.

When he'd finished eating he went back to his room to change into new clothes and get things like his sword, armor, and some supplies. He got all of it together, and sighed before opening his doors. He was drowned in his thoughts by the time he reached the Entrance Hall. Something went off in his head and he stopped, on full alert. He focused his ears and took a deep breath. His eyes widened as he realized just as Inutaishou came striding out of a hall.

"Son!" He exclaimed, his arms held wide. "I was just about to come looking for you! How are things" He stopped in front of Sesshoumaru and immediately crushed him in a hug.

"Hello father…" He replied automatically, still astonished by his abrupt appearance. "Father, why are you here?" He asked, gathering his bearings and stiffening in his father arms, trying to detach himself from the vice-like embrace. His eyebrows rose as his father's scent registered in his head, he smelt like humans. He then rationalized that he must have passed through a human village on his way to the castle.

"I've got a surprise, actually. Come with me." He steered Sesshoumaru into one of the side halls, holding onto one of his shoulders. "So how have thinks been going?"

"It's fine around here."

"Yes I know things are fine around here, I meant how are things for you? Are you okay?" His disarming smile flashed again and Sesshoumaru was taken aback that his father expressed concern for him personally. He had the impression over the years that he was too busy for him. Despite his inner confusion, his face remained normal, and only slightly apathetic.

"Yes father, I am fine also."

"Are you sure you're okay with running the west? It's a lot of responsibility."

"Yes it is, but it must be done and I know what I have to do. You don't have to worry, I have things under control."

"I'm sure you do, but I'm just worried that you're taking it a little too seriously." He was keeping his tone casual, but Sesshoumaru could tell he had been thinking of this for a while.

"I don't know what you mean. Running the lands _is_ a serious thing." He said frankly.

"Yes, but you can still have fun doing it, son, remember that." Inutaishou said, nodding his head sagely. Sesshoumaru scoffed.

'_Yeah, fun for who?_' Sesshoumaru grumbled inwardly.

"Yes, father." He said out loud, and then felt a need to change the subject. "What is this surprise you were talking about?" His father was still steering him towards it.

"I met someone on my rounds."

"Met someone? Who?" He asked, thinking he found some demon to help him calm the fighting between the Foxes and Bears. "Were they helping you to make peace between the clans?"

"No son, her name is Izayoi."

Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks so stiffly that his father who'd been steering had stopped also. He was settled with such a vehemently livid look from his son, he inwardly quailed; outwardly he raised his eyebrow with surprise. Sesshoumaru's eyes were practically neon gold; they were burning so bright with anger.

"A demoness? You brought a demoness here? For what purpose?" His voice was dripping with poison metaphorically, though it looked like it might be literal in a matter of minutes. He looked at him with calm understanding.

"Actually, not a demoness."

"What then? A human? Don't tell me you brought a filthy human into the castle!"

Inutaishou's teeth clenched at the word filthy.

"Son, it doesn't matter what race she is. She is a wonderful woman and she's here because I want her to be." He said firmly. Sesshoumaru was so furious; his mind was a whirl of red tinted thoughts.

"So what is she to you?" He did not attempt to hide his snarl and he bared his fangs to his father in an utter display of disrespect.

"Sesshoumaru, I—"

"You're trying to replace mother, aren't you? And you want me to meet that bitch? No!" His eyes were flaming and his pupils were getting smaller as his anger magnified. "I—Will—Not—See—Her." He said in a whisper, feral tones shuddering in his voice. He turned and walked away, seething. Power crackled around his body, and eyes tinted red. As he stalked down the hall, his stride long and quick in fury, a consultant popped in behind him. He felt so much anger building up in him, burning in his chest, burning him inside and blinding his senses. He had to let it out.

Without thinking he swung around and let his fist fly into the face of the consultant chattering behind him. The demon flew and the schedule in his hands launched in the air as he cracked his head on the far wall and slid down the surface, landing in a crumpled heap on the floor; blood trickled down his face.

Anger subdued for the moment, he spun back around and continued his way. His breathing returned slowly to normal by the time he entered his room, slamming the door shut behind him. He immediately began pacing restlessly, his hair whipping around every time he did an about-face.

"How could he do this? Mother's memory is being trampled on! How dare he claim to love her when she can be replaced so easily! And by a dirty, filthy human! That man is a fool! Does he realize this will only end up with an equally filthy hanyou? How could he even think it would be okay to spawn a bastard half-demon with that bitch!"

His nails where making his palms bleed by clenching them so hard.

"This should not be happening! This is not right!" His voice had a desperate edge as he sat heavily on his bed, his head in his hands. "Mother…Mother what's happening?" He groaned, rocking slightly into his palms, wondering when his life became such a nightmare; a living hell.

He stayed in his rooms all day, and Inutaishou let him. He knew the news would be hard on him and he'd put it off for over a year, but he had to know sooner or later. Izayoi was part of his life now, and he hoped Sesshoumaru would accept that someday.

Inutaishou had watched as his son stormed away from him and fully regretted not closing the Conference Room doors which they were close to. He shook his head mournfully and entered the room to the woman he fell in love with he watched her from the door way with a pensive look on his face.

Izayoi was often referred to in her village as the 'raven haired beauty' and she lived up to that name one hundred percent. Her long jet-black locks fell almost all the way to the floor and her face was so sweet and caring it just made him smile when he saw her. He wanted to love and protect her forever.

And apart from their very different looks, Izayoi's personality reminded him of Seisha. She was extremely loving, but also firm. He always loved the way Seisha properly earned and demanded respect from everyone and if she didn't get it, there would be hell to pay. He missed her fiery attitude as much as he missed her loving grace.

Izayoi was not as extreme; she earned respect and kept it by treating others with loyalty and love. She was much more passive than Seisha, but that was due to back ground. Seisha had to toughen up when she was younger to live on her own when her parents died.

Inutaishou loved Izayoi and Sesshoumaru would have to learn to adapt. He had never really seen his son interact with humans, and he never knew he thought of them so badly. He'd only seen the lower end of their society. Izayoi was very high up, and well respected. He thought for sure that Sesshoumaru would like or at least tolerate her if he just got to know her.

"This is going to be hard on him." He said to himself, and then moved to her side. She looked up at him, her large brown eyes stabbed at his heart. "How much?" He asked, knowing she knew what he was talking about.

"All of it. I heard all of it. Why does your son hate me?" He asked quietly. Her eyes were dry, it took a lot to make the strong woman cry, but they were filled with such sadness, it was as if she were. And he knew why she was so distressed. She was pregnant.

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**A/N: Hmmm, another hurdle for Sesshoumaru…Drop me a review,**

**JA NE**


	15. Nah

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER FIFTEEN-:-:-:-:-

Sesshoumaru was lying back on his bed, his eyes glassy as he as he stared dully up at the deep red hangings enclosing his bed. He didn't know if his father was still in the castle or not, but since there were no consultants swarming him he took a guess that he was taking care of things.

He had refused over the last few days to acknowledge either his father or Izayoi, and spent his time in his chambers. He did things like send the most incompetent servant to help take care of her. He was always spilling tea and doing other such clumsy acts.

Inutaishou wasn't pleased.

Sesshoumaru had smirked when he heard her scream ring through the halls as scalding tea soaked her the time he'd spilled it on her lap.

He mulled over the things that had happened to him that shouldn't have, and constantly wondered why he deserved such misfortune.

He ground his teeth as he thought of his father.

After his mother died. That was when everything had gone downhill and he knew it. He felt himself grow hot as his anger spiked. He knew why his father was treating the human so well. He could sense the baby in her and it made him sick to his stomach. Made him feel like he wanted to go on a massacre.

He'd found out the same day his father had brought her to the castle. He was walking down a corridor, planning on going to the kitchens to grab something to eat, thinking it would calm his stomach. On the way, she was coming through the hall, being led by a servant. He could smell fear as she saw him. He gritted his teeth, knowing if he did anything, his father would be on him about it.

Instead of letting out his boiling temper, he kept walking straight, and his shoulder bumped hard into hers. He saw her try to avoid collision, but at the moment of contact, he felt himself go numb. His eyes unfocused in blind rage and he turned on her, snarling. She took a step back, gasping as his eyes tinted crimson.

"You damn bitch!" He bellowed, his hair whipping about as his demonic aura reared, "You're pregnant! How dare you soil our perfect bloodline with your filthy human defects?" He pointed at her belly, not yet protruding, and his fingers itched to sink themselves into her, but he couldn't on account of a strong hand grasping his wrist, twisting it painfully. He looked up into the severe eyes of his father, his own orbs burning with rage and impertinence. He pulled his hand from his father's and clenched it at his side.

"How could you create this abomination? A hanyou? A hanyou, father? You have disgraced the dog demon lineage! It was shameful enough for you to try and replace mother with this whore, but to go and actually mate with her too is unacceptable! That creature you will call a child will be shunned and ostracized! I'll make sure of it! As for her! She has no right to be here! I demand that she return to the village that spawned her!" He was baring his fangs and loud, vicious growls and snarls reverberated from deep in his throat.

He whipped around, forgetting about food, and strode back to his room where he began pacing again, pulling out his hair in stress. Sesshoumaru couldn't help that he was unable to control himself and almost attacked her. She was a worthless human and it was a disgrace to their bloodline.

He would have been glad to kill her. He didn't want to deal with the abomination after all. He could feel that the dirty hanyou would be a thorn in his side when it grew up. But there was nothing he could do but take it—to roll with the punches.

The human woman was protected by his father because he had some sort of mutation in his head where he thought that she mattered. He could refuse to do his job until she left the castle. His father would have to agree because he had to get back out on rounds and someone had to run the west.

He pushed himself up from the bed and swept aside the hanging to find Miyuki waiting right in front of him. There was a time when that would have made him jump, but now he just moved around him, not even flinching. He went past Miyuki who also noticed painfully how different his prince was. He closed his eyes and spoke softly.

"Lord Inutaishou needs to know when you plan on resuming you duties." He asked, opening his bright emerald eyes which Sesshoumaru felt were trying to go right through him, but it was different this time. He was hiding too well. The air was heavy and Miyuki could feel that things were changing for his master.

The twilight dimmed the room and Sesshoumaru stood by the door, his eyes shadowed by his silvery hair.

"I'm not going to." He said softly, but with malice. Miyuki's eyes shifted calmly to Sesshoumaru, his mouth curved down and his face weary. He turned slowly to face him, reaching up a hand to hold his shoulder comfortingly, but his wrist was caught firmly and pushed to the side. His action wasn't very hard, but just enough to hint that he didn't want anyone to touch him.

Miyuki looked surprised, but diverted his eyes and had a dejected look on his face. His eyes fell into shadow also as the sun sank below the horizon. The silence pressed on them as if they were deep under water.

Miyuki was always the closest person to Sesshoumaru to the point where he could read his thoughts just by looking in his eyes. The panther could feel his heart beating slowly and painfully. He felt isolated—like a part of him had vanished. Like a part of his mind had been shut away from him. Sesshoumaru turned his head away from him a bit, but still studying his servant.

"I understand more than you think." Miyuki told him, his voice trembling. "I've never spoken about my life before I came here." He looked like saying this was making him physically ill.

"Hm?" Sesshoumaru's eye brow rose slightly. "What do you mean?" He always though that Miyuki was born at the castle. Most servants were. Miyuki was a lot older than he was, but he had always guessed he was born in the castle. Miyuki was taking deep breaths, calming himself.

"There's a reason my sister knew who Juusan was. Yes, he is notorious, but he was also the demon who murdered both of my parents and my two older brothers. There are not many panthers left in Japan, and the few that were had a small disagreement with the dragons. Juusan was sent to kill them and he did. After that, my sister, Milani, and I had nowhere to go. So we came here to get away from the South, and begged for shelter and would work in return," he said, his voice grave.

"I have had hardships in my life too. But we all get over them sometime. Believe me, someday, this will be a faded scar from a distant memory. If you understand that, you will learn to accept things when they are thrown at you. An emotionally strong person has everything and I consider myself lucky that I found that out early, or I would have probably died trying to avenge my dead family. My Prince, please do not shut yourself down again. You have responsibilities and you cannot act like a child when something does not go your way. The Western Lands should not suffer because of a personal issue of yours. That is not right, Prince Sesshoumaru, and you know it." Hair fell into his eyes and he didn't bother to push it away as he scowled at Sesshoumaru who seemed unaffected by his speech. He sighed, his shoulders slumped and he ran a hand through his hair. "Do you understand?" He asked softly.

Sesshoumaru, eyes suddenly closed tightly and shadowed, stepped back slowly; it was as if a dam broke inside him. His back hit the wall behind him. His eyes were open now and Miyuki could see right through him. He could see his fear, anger, remorse, confusion. Sesshoumaru covered his face, tears leaking through his fingers as he unwillingly broke down. He slid down the wall, sitting at the bottom, his head bowed between his knees and his breaths coming in ragged intervals.

Miyuki smiled softly and went to him, kneeling and putting his arms around the trembling Prince. He pulled his master to his chest gently and stroked his long silver hair as he silently cried out his frustration and stress that had built up over the long years. He rocked the young demon gently and whispered to him.

"Shh, it's okay. Everything will be okay. Don't deny your hardships; take them in as best you can and reform yourself to handle it. For the sake of yourself, and for everyone else, Prince Sesshoumaru. You have more people than you know relying on you and there will be many more in the future. You must be strong, but right now…let it out, my Prince, let it out." He pressed Sesshoumaru's head to his chest and held him like a parent would hold a distressed child.

"Your father isn't trying to replace your mother, but he's been alone for over a century. It could be that he sees some traits in her that he loved in Seisha-sama. He is not intentionally trying to make you angry and he's not trying to make you love her like your mother. All you have to do is endure it." His gentle voice calmed Sesshoumaru and the young Prince took a deep breath.

"I don't know…I get so angry when I see her. Both of them are making a mockery of our clan which is small enough as it is and they are going to pollute it and make it weaker by letting a hanyou be born. It's disgraceful!" He felt the back of his neck prickle hotly in anger and revulsion again and he snarled deeply. Miyuki just held him tighter, patting and rubbing his back gently until the Prince's breathing slowed.

"Calm down, my Prince. Remember what I said. Just tolerate it, calm yourself." A few more minutes in a comforting embrace, and Sesshoumaru raised his head, his eyes red from crying, but his face calm and grave.

"I'll try." He wiped his eyes roughly on his sleeve and stood quickly. Miyuki followed him, watching the Prince closely, nodding.

"That's all I ask, my Prince." He said soothingly as Sesshoumaru took calming breaths, but then looked at Miyuki severely.

"I still want her out of the castle. Soon. I want no part in the hanyou's life."

"That is reasonable, my Prince. I shall inform Lord Inutaishou of your requests. For now, you need to do your rounds. You are already three days late for it, so you must hurry. Being out there might help you too. The fresh air will clear your mind." He kneaded Sesshoumaru's shoulder for a few seconds, then steered him out of the door. When they came to the Entrance Hall doors, Miyuki waved him off, heaving a stressed sigh.

Later that day, when night had long since fallen, Miyuki went to Inutaishou's chambers to conference with the Lord about Sesshoumaru's concerns. The servant was greeted warmly and they settled in the sitting room. Once they both had a cup of tea in their hands, Inutaishou started.

"I would never usually sit with a servant like this, but you know I respect you and am grateful to you for taking care of my son so well. What is it that you wanted to know?" He set down his cup gently on the table separating them, his eyes looked tired and stressed.

"Lord Inutaishou, I'm concerned for Prince Sesshoumaru. He has had so much suffering in his life at such a young age, He…he's not himself anymore at all and I'm sure you've noticed the dramatic change…I can't tell you the last time I've seen him genuinely smile, my lord, I'm worried." Miyuki said evenly.

"What is it that you think I can do? If there was anything, I would've done it by now." Inutaishou told him flatly, picking up his teacup and taking a sip, looking at the servant over the rim of it with calculating eyes.

"My Lord, Prince Sesshoumaru has expressed immense dislike towards Izayoi-sama. It is not my place to say, but I must speak on his behalf and say this: Sesshoumaru would appreciate it very much if she were to leave. The stress it is putting on him with her here is too great for him to handle. He doesn't know how to control himself in such a way that would enable him to live peacefully with a trigger as overwhelming as an unknown human woman who is carrying his father's baby and is thrown into his life suddenly. He can't accept that so fast, my Lord. I ask you to have pity on him and allow him what he asks. I think it is reasonable."

Miyuki's face was firm, as if he were not a servant speaking to his master, but as two equal demons discussing an important matter. Inutaishou considered him for a moment, his face also calm and straight. He seemed not to be able to think of an answer so Miyuki continued.

"My Lord, it would benefit your son if you allowed him what he asks for. I know that you have deep feelings for this woman, but for the sake of your son, I think that she needs to go. He is a wreck, My Lord, please." Miyuki's cup sat forgotten and cold as Inutaishou stared at him, his cup still raised to his lips though his hadn't taken a sip in quite a while.

"I can't do that though." He said slowly, lowering his cup to his lap, "I know that this is hard on Sesshoumaru, especially after all the things that have been happening to him, but I love Izayoi. The village that she came from shunned her immediately after hearing that she was with the child of a demon. They will not let her back. She has nowhere to go and I don't _want_ her to go anywhere. I know this is putting stress on Sesshoumaru, but I can't let her go. She is carrying my child. It matters not to me that it will be a hanyou. With my training it will be as strong as any demon. It will just have to work a bit harder." He said, finally setting down his cup on the table. His face was drawn and tired.

"My Lord, there must be other villages in the West that would not be hostile to her." Miyuki offered, looking sympathetically into Inutaishou's troubled eyes. The lord shook his head resentfully.

"No there isn't. I've been to all the villages, and I don't want to order them to take her, that wouldn't be right and I know they still would not treat her well. Regardless if she is a human, she is carrying my child and I love her. She is going to be part of our lives no matter what." As Inutaishou was saying this, is face wasn't very sure.

"My Lord, Prince Sesshoumaru has made it clear he wants nothing to do with the child. And as I said before, it is a reasonable request."

"But what am I supposed to do, Miyuki? I'm backed into a corner!" He looked at the servant expectantly. Miyuki was very surprised that Inutaishou had addressed him by his first name so easily, but quickly shook off the unimportant thoughts and set his mind to finding a solution. While he was thinking, Inutaishou continued.

"There is nothing I can do right now. At least not until my son is born. After that, we may be able to work something out, but while she is pregnant, she needs to be protected." He was willing Miyuki to understand that he was not the bad guy and he had no choice in what was happening. He sighed and ran his hands over his face, then suddenly said, "Come in."

"Hm?" Miyuki frowned, looking at him, then his eyes snapped to the door as it opened slowly. Izayoi came in, her eyes calm and resigned.

"So what do you think, Izayoi?" Inutaishou asked her, standing and putting an arm loosely around her waist. Miyuki was still a bit surprised that she had been listening outside the door and he didn't notice, but then listened as she spoke softly.

"I will not come between you and your only family, Inutaishou." Her voice was so soft, like an angel. Miyuki couldn't help but feel pity for her. Inutaishou was expecting this from her and began shaking his head, but she held it still, her hands on either of his cheeks. "I'm serious, my love. I will fix something with my village and I'll leave."

"You will not be protected there; I cannot let you go, Izayoi." He said sternly. She shook her head reassuringly.

"There is someone I think I can convince to help me. Takemaru is an old friend of mine; I will be able to get help from him." She told him, "I don't want to come between you and your son," She knew Inutaishou was going to refuse, she shook her head. "I will be fine. Takemaru will take care of me."

Inutaishou looked at her sadly, knowing what she was offering was his best bet to save his son's future.

"Trust me, my love. I will take care of our child."

"I must stay here, though. I will send a trusted soldier to take you back to your village. When…when do you plan to go?" He didn't like the idea of her leaving in such a vulnerable state.

"I'll depart in the morning. Your son is too important to jeopardize and I don't want to be responsible for it." She said softly, "I'll go get ready." She turned around, but Inutaishou put his hand on her arm gently, she looked back at him and he gave her a soft smile.

"Thank you." He whispered. She returned his smile, though brighter, and nodded. She left soon after, Miyuki and Inutaishou remaining in the sitting room.

"I think she will be fine, my lord. She is very strong for a human." Miyuki said admirably. Inutaishou nodded.

The next morning Izayoi left, flanked by three trusted and skilled soldiers. Inutaishou watched her go, waving with a false smile.

Now all he had to do was wait for Sesshoumaru to come back from his rounds to see if things would really get better. But he couldn't banish the feeling that letting Izayoi go back to her village was a bad idea. With a shake of his head he pushed aside that thought, chuckling to himself. Nah.

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**N/A: =/**

**Ja Ne**


	16. Spared

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER SIXTEEN-:-:-:-:-

Sesshoumaru found that he did indeed enjoy being away from the castle and he never knew just how wound up he was until he was relaxing under the stars and just let his body repose. He felt as if he never wanted to return to the castle—or as he'd been calling it recently, his Personal Hell—and just run away. He knew it was a dumb thing to even think whimsically about, but he couldn't help it.

He made his way slowly to one of the human villages to kill some time, he wasn't going to run away, but he was going to take as long as he could. Anyway, it was the village that had been complaining before of a demon that had been terrorizing them. He'd somehow gotten sidetracked that day and conveniently forgotten to send them any help so far. But they seemed to be doing fine enough. Only a few more killings. No big deal.

When he arrived at the village, his nose wrinkled in disgust at their human stench and was immediately reminded of his father's whore back at the castle. He began to growl softly, but then stopped himself, willing the thoughts away. Once he shook his head, he went further into the village and spoke with the elderly monk that was in charge and gathered the information about the terrorist demon.

He was disappointed that it was only a lizard demon. A fairly weak one at that, and they were weak to begin with. How they couldn't defeat it—even with their human defects—he didn't know, nor understand, nor care too much about.

He got rid of the bothersome reptilian youkai with no problem and left quickly, brushing off the gratitude of the village and returning to his rounds.

He stopped at every spring he saw, and sat down to rest every night just to waste time. He knew he would have to return to the castle soon, but he was enjoying his freedom. He always enjoyed his rounds the most because there were no consultants or servant buzzing around him. He tried his best to stall, but he knew he had to go back.

He reluctantly began to walk in the direction of the castle, his steps slow and even. The next few days passed and he came up to the Main Gates; Sesshoumaru looked up at it, wishing he didn't have to go in. He lightly contemplated turning around, but that thought was squashed when the guard spotted him and waved down in greeting.

"Welcome back, Prince Sesshoumaru!" He called down from the watch room up top. The taiyoukai grumbled and waved his hand dismissively. He leapt over the high wall, landing on the other side silently.

The walk from the Main Gates to the castle was about a mile and a half, and he covered it as slowly as he could, savoring his last moments of peace. When he finally came up to the castle, he found Miyuki waiting for him. He sighed as he climbed the five or six steps leading up to the Entrance Hall and walked past Miyuki, motioning for him to walk also.

"Has my father left yet?" his voice was calm, but his shoulders felt heavy the moment he entered the stone structure. Miyuki fell in step behind him, smiling. Sesshoumaru looked at his cheerful expression with confusion.

"Actually, Lord Inutaishou is still here, but he made a sacrifice for you Prince Sesshoumaru, and it was not easy for him." Sesshoumaru stopped walking now, thoroughly confused.

"What do you mean?"

Miyuki stopped too, still smiling softly.

"I spoke to your father. He and Izayoi-sama made a tough decision, but she chose to return to her village until the time of birth." The panther watched Sesshoumaru's stunned face. The young demon's lips parted slightly in surprise, before clearing his throat and continuing walking.

"Good. So then why is my father still here?" He kept his voice as casual as possible.

"He wanted to speak with you, my Prince." Sweeping back a wisp of hair, he watched his prince's reactions, which were surprisingly downplayed.

Sesshoumaru's eye brows only rose just a bit and he nodded. Miyuki fell back after that, disappearing from Sesshoumaru's side as the demon prince made his way to his father's chamber. He was running scenarios through his head of what his father would say. He would probably be going on about how lucky he was to have such a considerate father and what not.

The taiyoukai scoffed at this. If he were a lucky demon then the abomination festering inside the human's belly would be long since dead by now and his mother would still be alive. No, he was not lucky. A rumble escaped his throat as he sighed heavily. Sooner than he would have liked, before him were the grand doors of his father's room. He reluctantly raised a hand and knocked on the deeply stained oak wood, then waited for a reply.

The door swung open, revealing his father. Inutaishou's face was straight, but when he saw his son it brightened just a bit. The daiyoukai motioned elegantly for his son to enter and closed the door behind him. Sesshoumaru took a chair in the sitting room and waited for the "lucky" speech with cynical eyes.

"Son…" Inutaishou began, standing next to him, not taking a seat.

"Yes father?" The question wasn't really a question; it was more of a signal for him to get going with what he had to say.

"As I think you know, Izayoi has returned to her village." Inutaishou looked down at Sesshoumaru, weighing his emotions.

"Yes, Miyuki told me."

"I regret that you can't look past her race and see her for the…"

"For god's sake, father, spare me." Sesshoumaru grumbled, then mentally slapped a hand to his forehead. He knew he shouldn't have been disrespectful. His eyes wandered up to his father's, his fear well hidden among his indifferent expression.

Inutaishou leveled him with piercing eyes. Sesshoumaru could tell he was angry, but trying to hold it back.

"Very well," Inutaishou said quietly, his eyes shielded and he began to pace up and down the sitting room. "I have realized recently that I have been treating you like a child, which you are no longer." He stopped and looked pointedly at the Western Land's heir, "You will be lord one day and I will not be there to protect you and fix things for you so you get your way. Izayoi may be gone for now; she left for your sake, so be grateful. If it were my choice, she would still be here and you would just have to deal with it."

His voice was harsh—he was no longer pretending.

"Secondly: she will be back. I know you think lowly of her, but the child inside her is going to be part of your life and you will have to bear with it. I would advise you to open your mind and accept her so you will not have to shut yourself away all the time. And 'the hanyou' as you so politely call him, _will_ be your half-sibling as well as a half demon and _will_ be part of your life. I can no longer shield you and try to change things that you don't like." He stood over his son, his face hard. Sesshoumaru's eyes were growing hot and he felt his skin warming as anger spiked within him.

"This is the reality, son. Once the child is born, he or she will be part of the ruling clan regardless of how you feel. And once I am gone and you are lord, I trust you to be mature enough to take care of your younger sibling and protect our small, growing clan." He told him, his face grim and serious. Sesshoumaru's eyes had pure loathing in them and his teeth were clenched.

Inutaishou's firm gaze pierced right through him and he felt like lashing out at him.

He was sick of the anger and the pain. He was sick of quarantining himself in his room to avoid a human, he was sick of being upset with his father and with Miyuki, he was sick of the pain in his heart every time he felt the fire of his anger rise in his chest. He felt like he had been tense for much too long and his body was breaking. He thought over what his father said, and he decided to change himself, to adapt and bear with it, as he had been repeatedly told.

Anger, jealousy…hatred, loathing, confusion, frustration…even illusions like happiness and joy…what was the use of them? These emotions only proved to get in the way of him learning to rule the Western lands. What was the solution?

To get rid of them.

That was easy enough to say, but how did one really go about abolishing emotion? Was it hard? Or could it be as simple as clearing the mind? Meditation, perhaps?

He realized he had been in deep thought. He wanted to think more of this, it was an interesting notion. He stood, not realizing that his father had been speaking. He didn't even give eye contact as he walked towards the doors. He took the handle and jerked it open.

"Thank you, father." He said absently, not aware that what he said did not make sense and he missed the confused frown and bewildered eyes of his father as he left, politely closing the door behind him.

Inutaishou watched him leave, blinking confusion out of his eyes. He slowly took the seat that his son had occupied, thinking of his behavior. He could tell that for the last few minutes his son had spaced out, deep in thought. He was glad about that because most of his anger evaporated at that time, but he also wasn't sure he would have like what Sesshoumaru was thinking about.

What ever it was, he was weary of it. A thought that could make him calm so easily…it wasn't normal, but the only thing Inutaishou could do was ask Miyuki to keep a closer watch on him. He had to return to his rounds and he hoped that his much-too-long absence wasn't allowing more clashing between the Fox and Bear clans. The Bears had been exceedingly aggressive lately…

He exited his chambers, a light frown darkening his features. When he reached the conference hall, he called Sesshoumaru's servant to him with a quick snap of his fingers. Miyuki ported in instantly, bowing then straightening.

"Yes, my Lord?" His eyes were calm and his shoulders looked heavy with weariness.

"I need you to watch Sesshoumaru closely while I'm gone. I fear that he is planning to do…something. I couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but I want you to keep an eye on him none the less, understood? In his current state, he could be a danger to himself more than anyone else." He started going towards the door, "I really must leave, I've been here for over a week which is much longer than I originally planned. I will be back before the year is complete, take care of him." He left swiftly after that, leaving Miyuki.

The panther ran a hand through his hair. Things were really looking bleak.

When Sesshoumaru made it back to his rooms, he settled in his own sitting area, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin poised thoughtfully on his fist.

He stared unblinkingly at a portrait on the far wall of one of his long-since-dead relatives and thought of emotion. He had come to the conclusion that emotion was not something useful to him and served him no purpose. The use of them was making him insane with all the things life had thrown at him. Whenever something went wrong, he showed he was affected by it; he showed weakness.

He had already decided that he was going to be the strongest ruler of the west and surpass his father. Ruling by fear was the method that appealed to him the most. How was he supposed to rule by fear if he was seen as weak?

'…_How do I stop the natural need of expression? Discipline and practice, of course, but is it really practical? Is it completely possible?_' He thought to himself, his eyes still trained on the painting in front of him.

He had been told many times by Miyuki that his eyes were very expressive. He had to find a way to fix that.

"How am I supposed to do that? How do I…stop my eyes?" He mumbled aloud, tapping a finger against his lips. Without knowing it, he'd done just that. His eyes remained narrower and held a sinister, cold glint.

He knew he had to learn to hide rather than abolish his emotions and expression. Hiding sounded easier—and it was. He tested himself on Miyuki when he came in about an hour later. The panther came into the room cautiously.

"My Prince, your father has left the castle to return to his rounds. You should go to your study and resume your work; there are things that must be done." Miyuki looked at him hard, attempting to break his knew barrier, but he wasn't able to. The emerald eyed demon's brow creased only slightly in frustration as Sesshoumaru walked passed him.

"I understand." His voice was deadpan and he was pleased with himself for being able to shut out someone who thought they knew him best.

He opened the door and his thoughts were immediately drowned out by the cloud of consultant, advisors, retainers, and servants that surrounded him the moment he stepped out of his room. His eye twitched and he could feel anger rearing up in him, but he pushed it down and pressed through the mob of demons all trying to tell him something at once.

They followed him insistently the whole way to his study before he slammed the door on all of them and Miyuki ported in, his face jaded as his eyes rested on his prince.

"You know some of those demons had important things to inform you of. Like that one that just broke his nose on the door you slammed needed to tell you that something odd is happening in your father's chambers. You should go check it out." Miyuki said, leaning back on the door. Sesshoumaru's eyebrows rose unemotionally.

"Something odd like what?" He asked in a bored voice. He figured it couldn't be so bad if Miyuki was being this calm about it.

"Why don't you speak with him about it on the way there?" He settled the prince with a heavy look then ported out without a word.

Sesshoumaru ground his teeth and grumbled under his breath, then yanked his study door open. He combed through the crowd with his piercing molten eyes until he found the one with a crooked nose, wiping blood from his face.

"You." He said sharply, "Come with me."

"My Prince, I—!" Another advisor tried to come up to him, but Sesshoumaru's hand grabbed him by his face and threw him back roughly. His other hand shot out and snatched the demon he needed by the front of his haori, dragging him as he made his way out of the multitude of demons and towards his father's chambers, "the rest of you: STAY," he said firmly over his shoulder.

"My Prince—" The consultant began, quickly gathering his footing beneath him as Sesshoumaru released the front of his clothes. When he began to speak, the prince held up his hand, stopping him.

"I am not in the mood to listen to your babbling. If you cannot say what you have to say in five or less words, you will be mopping the castle floors for a century." He told the demon, his voice soft, low and dangerous. The consultant visibly trembled and Sesshoumaru inwardly smiled. Fear was good. Nothing was wrong with getting a head start, was there?

The consultant was silent as he chose his words carefully.

"Sir, a…book was glowing." He said, hoping that his prince understood. Sesshoumaru thought for a second. A book? Ah, yes, the one he found before…he knew it was suspicious, but what was going on now? He didn't even give the consultant a glance as he waved his hand dismissively at him.

"That will be all." He went a few strides before frowning; the servant was meekly following him still, his eyes nervous.

"Ano…My Prince, there is more news I think you would like to know."

Sesshoumaru sighed.

"What is it?"

"I've been told Akina-sama is planning on returning here sometime in the next week to visit you, my Prince."

Sesshoumaru nodded. The consultant stopped, bowed, and ported out. The taiyoukai was so drained, he felt like just going to his room and throwing himself in his bed. He shook the thoughts out of his head as he rounded a corner, coming upon the door to Inutaishou's room. He took the handle and opened it.

He found that the book was in the center of the bed when he walked in, but it wasn't glowing or doing anything remotely interesting. He strode to the bed and picked up the leather bound book, inspected it, then tossed it indifferently atop the splaying pile of papers on his father's desk.

"What a waste of time." He turned and left closing the door a bit more forcefully behind him than needed in his aggravation. He returned to his study, met by a mound of papers and started on them.

When the day went by, and Sesshoumaru was almost finished with his papers, he picked up the last one, wearily skimming the text. Slowly his eyebrows rose as he was more and more surprised by the report. It seemed that a low class dragon had taken up residence in the West, settling in the rift valley close to the border between the West and the South. Not good. Dragons were troublesome.

He leaned back, holding the paper in his hand, frowning at it.

"More work." He grumbled. Dragons were stubborn and arrogant and it could take years to get rid of one especially a low class one because they never listened to reason. At least he'd never met one that did. He thought back to when he had to meet the Boundary Keeper, Sakai. Boy, she was really something. He became even wearier just thinking of her, so he shook his head, removing the thoughts of her and focused on what was happening now.

As it was, he was no match for a dragon and he knew that all too well. Low class Dragons weren't far behind their High class counterparts in terms of brute strength, actually it was deceptively close. The difference was that high class Dragons were able to reason and strategize and were extremely wry and illusory; not to be trusted. They were masters of deception, actually. Luring people to their demise was a specialty of theirs and they liked to sit back and watch people kill themselves with a well initiated plot or trap of their own; but they also had no problem whatsoever with doing someone in with their own hands.

But that aside, this was a low class dragon; mostly brute force; not so much mind power present. Stubbornness was also in abundance along with its strength and that almost always turned out to be a volatile combination. His fingers ran themselves through his silver hair before he snapped them, calling Miyuki to him. The panther appeared at his side, bowing.

"Yes, my Prince?" His voice was silky soft as his shining eyes turned to the young demon who was still skimming the paper, his brow lightly furrowed.

"What do you know of the dragon in the Western Land's rift valley?" He asked, finally looking up from the report.

"It is a low class dragon by the name of Ryukotsusei. It has a snake-like form and does not have the ability to shift appearances to look humanoid. He has somehow acquired a cursed Noh Mask; it was probably stolen from a powerful mage. Ryukotsusei attached it to his forehead and uses it for speech and as a power amplifier as well. He seeks something called the Shikon no Tama. That is all that is known so far."

He rattled off the facts to Sesshoumaru as if he were reading them from a list. The young demon was a bit surprised at the way the panther had been acting lately. He had never known his servant to act so impersonal towards him. He mentally shrugged it off. Maybe that was a good thing.

"Hm." He took a deep breath.

Suddenly a servant ported in aside Miyuki, bowing to the panther before straightening and addressing him.

"Miyuki-senpai, a message came in from Inutaishou-sama concerning the Dragon. He has informed us that he will take care of it. Here is his letter." The servant handed the scroll in his hands to Miyuki, bowed again then disappeared. Miyuki opened the scroll, skimming it and handing it to Sesshoumaru who read it also.

"This is reasonable, of course, since you are not powerful enough to face a dragon yet. But I hope Lord Inutaishou will be okay." The panther said as the young demon set the scroll down on his bare desk.

"It will be a while before he gets around to it though. He is still busy making up for lost time with the fighting clans. He'll have a long time to think of what to do. It will be fine." He rolled up the scroll and put it in a drawer. He got up, done with his work, and went to catch some sleep before he had to train as his schedule demanded.

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**A/N: Emergence of the ice prince…this time here to stay. We all know the last hurdle that throws our prince into stone-cold lord territory…**

**Ja Ne**


	17. Fast Approaching

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER SEVENTEEN-:-:-:-:-

The next day, the sun peeked over the trees and met Sesshoumaru resting on the side of a hill, tired from his training session. Sweat plastered his silvery-white hair to his forehead as he focused on calming his breathing as he watched colors splay across the sky.

The Dragon in the western rift valley had been constantly on his mind since he read the paper the day before. He couldn't help it. His mother was killed by a dragon and his mother and father were very close in strength.

Sure, Juusan, the Dragon that killed his mother was a high class one, and Ryukotsusei was low class, but he couldn't help but wonder. His eyes unfocused and his bare chest rose and fell, now calm and restful. When the sun had risen and was bathing Sesshoumaru in caressing warmth, a servant appeared as scheduled and stood aside him as he grudgingly picked himself up from the crisp grass.

"My Prince it is time for your conference with the Western Army's commander. Today is their evaluation," Said the servant, looking down at a scroll in his hands, idly scratching something off the list.

"It will be attended to," Intoned the prince, beginning to return to the castle with the servant in tow.

"The General will be waiting for you after you clean up. Try to be quick, my prince, after the evaluation, you must finish the day's paper work and then—"

In his servant's mid-sentence, Sesshoumaru jumped into the air, landing above on his balcony and sealing himself inside. The safe feeling of his chambers washed over him and he let out a sigh. His short-lived reprieve ended as he left his chamber an hour later, bathed, dressed and immaculate as usual; every silver hair perfectly in place.

When he began his evaluation of the rarely used army, it started out with an examination of the commanders and generals first, then going down through the ranks.

Five hours of evaluating only led to reveal that the army was in top shape as always. With that labeled as another mammoth waste of time, he was now on his way to do the day's paperwork. He was inwardly anxious to see if there was any more news of the Dragon. There were many things he was curious about concerning the beast, but there was not additional information available to him.

He sat at his desk, scanning the daily renewed pile of papers to see if the word 'dragon' popped out at him. It didn't. So, as usual, he began his long tedious task, reading every paper, and then signing it.

He had finished a little over halfway when a servant ported it, bowed, and then proceeded to share his message.

"My Prince, Lady Akina has just arrived. She wishes to see you—" He was cut off as another advisor ported in, this one looked flustered and forgot to bow as he began reprimanding the other as if Sesshoumaru was not ten feet from them.

"Baka!" The advisor said, "Prince Sesshoumaru has work that must be done, he cannot be visiting right now. His schedule does not allow leisure time at this moment!" Under his arm was the large and ever-growing schedule. He whipped it out and knocked the other soundly on his head. The younger servant quailed slightly.

"Forgive me, Senpai." He said with a grimace, rubbing his head. He ported out with an apologetic look and the remaining advisor turned briskly to Sesshoumaru.

"I apologize, my Prince, but there is simply no time right now for a visit, if you finish soon, then there will be time to see Lady Akina before…" He paused and looked down at his now unfurled scroll, "You will have time to meet her before your mythology lesson. Then you will have more time before your next lesson in mathematics." He said before snapping up the scroll and raising his head. "Don't worry about Lady Akina, Miyuki-senpai is keeping her company and has explained the complications of your time. Now please finish your work, my Prince." And with that, he ported out with a quick bow.

After that, Sesshoumaru finished in a few hours and went down stair a few levels, coming upon the conference room where he felt Akina's strong power signature. He only had about ten minutes before his lessons began. He opened the conference hall doors and immediately found himself with an armful of the Unicorn. She was getting taller still; the top of her head coming up to his eyes now. She was slender with a strong lean body, her golden hair was longer and wavy and her violet eyes sparkled with joy.

"Sesshie-kun, how have you been? I missed you!" She released his waist and looked up at him. He almost allowed himself to smile, but he held himself from it. He was sure that his eyes looked just as joyful as hers though. "What's the matter? You're not happy to see me?" She knew he was by his eyes, but she was commenting on his straight face.

"It's great to see you Akina." He said softly. She gazed at him with evaluating, calculating eyes. He felt uneasy under her inspection, but stood unrelenting.

"Geez, do you ever stop growing?" She said finally, "I thought for sure with my last growth spurt I'd pass you up." Her complaining voice suddenly turned competitive. "So, you told me to be prepared for a fight when I returned. I'll have you know that I've been training hard."

"I'm sorry; I have to go to my lesson. I'm afraid I don't have time for that." He saw the knowing look in her eyes that told him she accepted his refusal.

"So you're really busy around here, huh?" She had been expecting to be turned down for a fight, and wasn't extremely disappointed.

"Yes, I must go. How long are you visiting?"

"I'll be here for a week at most. Is that alright?" She started walking him towards the corridor he was going to leave through.

"Yes of course. You can come with me on my rounds tomorrow if you want."

"Yeah, that sounds good." She beamed up at him and he found himself surprised at how little she treated him different.

He knew he was not as cold to her as he had been to everyone else lately, but she could really sense who he was inside, and supported him for what he'd chosen to do to cope with his stress. He was glad he still had someone to rely on, even though he doubted he would ever ask her for help. But he was sure if he did, she would always lend him her courage.

It was comforting that he could have someone that he could break down in front of and wouldn't think him weak. He found solace in that and gripped the thought tightly as if it were going to escape through his fingers like wisps of smoke. He needed this comfort to be able to move on.

He smiled inwardly as she waved him off down the corridor towards his mythology lesson.

Two hours later he returned to Akina and spent some more time with her before his mathematics lesson, then it would be late and he would have to prepare for his rounds the next day. When his lesson ended and he was preparing himself for the next day, Akina came into his room. She closed the door behind her and sat comfortably on his bed.

"It's really great to be back, y'know? I missed this place so badly." She looked around the room fondly. Sesshoumaru looked at her, knowing she had come to him with more important thoughts than that.

"Yes, I can imagine." He said softly, waiting for her to get on with what she had to say.

"Soo…" She said, bouncing on the bed slightly before catching his eyes, "So, I hear you're going to have a little brother of your own. Miyuki said the latest update is that it will be a boy. Congratulations." She commented loftily. Sesshoumaru stiffened and Akina could sense his uneasiness at her simple statement. Unicorns were skilled in empathy and could easily sense other's emotions. Akina could feel that his uneasiness turned to anger quickly. She was surprised that he showed nothing on his face even when she was able to read him strongly by his eyes and her power.

"I don't know what you mean. I am not going to have a little brother." He said coolly, his eyes murderous as if daring her to continue the topic. She did.

"Really? Because Miyuki told me that you were, and that the mother is very beautiful and also human." She crossed her legs nonchalantly as Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes.

"I do not know about beautiful, but yes, she is a human. Meaning that the 'child', which is a term you seem to use loosely, is going to be a hanyou and spoil the Dog Demon clan. It is unacceptable, and when I am lord the first thing I'll do is kill it." He snarled more viciously than intended and Akina looked taken aback.

"Please don't say that, Sesshie-kun. I feel that the child will be very important to you given time." He scoffed loudly at her prophesy and put his hands on his hips, though his face was indifferent, his voice and eyes gave away his anger more that his body language did.

"The brat will be nothing more than a bother to me; and a bad memory once it's gone." He said, his voice wavering hotly.

"Sesshoumaru…"

"No. No more speaking of this. If you are planning on coming with me tomorrow, then you better get some rest. Goodnight, Akina." He escorted her firmly to his door, walked her to her room silently, and then turned back to his.

He sat in his bed thinking. Why in the world would the hanyou be important to him? No, that would be impossible. He had no use for a weak hanyou. The sooner it was dead, the better. On that last thought, he let sleep claim him.

_Sesshoumaru had no idea where he was_. _All he knew was that it was white. All white, with mist clouding at his feet. There was no blue sky above his head or green grass below. In fact, it felt as though he were floating…but standing. It was an odd sensation, but he ignored it in favor of finding out why he was here, and so began walking. The brightness was making his eyes hurt and he blinked rapidly for a while, feeling his vision blur._

_Pressing the heels of his palms into his golden eyes, he stopped. It was when he opened his eyes that he realized that the mist was rising and was now around his knees. The blinding whiteness suddenly dimmed, becoming dark black but the mist remained the bright, unearthly white and it was curling around his waist now._

"_What is this…?" He whispered, squinting into the distance which seemed like it had no end. There was nothing attacking him and there was nothing helping him. Now agitated, he swatted at the curling mist as he trudged through it, his footfalls making no noise._

_Minutes later the mist had risen over his head and he gave up trying to walk, knowing it was doing no good. There was a sudden noise behind him, like a firecracker going off and a flash of light. He jumped at the noise then spun wildly, his senses on high alert though he could detect nothing. _

_He just about jumped out of his skin when a hand touched his shoulder._

_He spun again, knocking the hand away from him and looking crazily about for the owner. Then someone touched his hair behind him, pulling it back from his face in an almost loving and affectionate manner._

_He spun again, his heart thumping loudly as he tried to see through the mist when a voice abruptly surrounded him, coming from everywhere._

"_My darling son, Sesshoumaru…" The voice was soft and gentle. It was the voice of Seisha. A cry ripped from his throat and he looked around, now desperately. He couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, but it wrapped around him like a warm blanket._

"_Mother?" His tone sounded weak and when another hand touched his shoulder, he grabbed it and turned around. Seisha was standing there, shrouded in white mist, her eyes sorrowful. _

"_My son, why do you punish yourself so?" He saw her mouth moving, but her voice still seemed to come from everywhere. He released her hand slowly and looked downward._

"_I am not punishing myself, mother. I'm doing what's necessary." His voice was soft, even and calm. Seisha raised her hand and touched his cheek gently, searching his eyes._

"_You will lock yourself away because of a hanyou? You will suffer this internal trauma because you think your father has not been faithful to me?" She asked. Sesshoumaru frowned delicately against his mother's hand on his cheek._

"_Mother, he went and mated with a human tramp! Does that not make you angry? He created a hanyou that will weaken our bloodline! He is as much a traitor as any other, whether he is lord or not!" He seethed, snarling his words while his mother watched him, unyieldingly._

"_You must take what life gives to you; you mustn't run from it and hide."_

"_Yes, everyone tries to tell me that, but it's not as easy as you seem to think! I will never respect father the way I used to. I cannot look up to him any longer. He is a strange man to me now and I must look for myself. I will not depend on him anymore. I refuse to look after the things he's done to our clan. In such a critical time of our history, he's destroying it. Our strong blood will be diluted more and more and become as useless as lizards that were once mighty dragons!" He fell into his mother's arms, his eyes dry. _

"_Your fears are childish, my son. One hanyou will not cause destruction of our clan." Her arms went around him comfortingly._

"_I cannot believe that, mother." He said quietly into her shoulder, his head shaking slightly. He pulled away from her holding her arms._

"_Then do what you must, but let me tell you this. Stay your hand as long as you are able. Do not kill him as a child. He will be an innocent transported into a hostile world. Let him know some hardships before you make your decision. You may or may not change your mind. And be ready, my son. Your time as lord is fast approaching." She began to fade into the mist, the arms under his fingers disappearing and he stared into the darkness as the mist also receded, leaving him alone._

"_My time as lord…" He repeated numbly. "What does that mean?" _

"What does what mean?"

He started awake at the sudden voice, bolting upright in his bed, his sheet pooling around his waist. Akina was sitting at the edge, looking at him questioningly, her head cocked to the side. He quickly pulled on his indifferent mask and frowned at her, pushing hair out of his eyes.

"What are you doing in my room, Akina?"

"Well, you were late so I decided to come for you. You seemed to be having an odd dream…what was it about?"

He ignored her question on his dream and focused on the first part.

"Late? What time is it?" He looked at his balcony, but the doors were closed.

"Well, it's a bit past noon…"

"_What_?" His mask slipped slightly. The prince leapt out of his bed swiftly and strode to his balcony doors and sure enough when he opened them he was greeted by the warm noon sun high in the sky. He swore at himself in his head before turning to Akina.

"Please excuse me, I must dress." He said hurriedly; he was only wearing silk pants. She nodded with a slight smile and left him.

Ten minutes later he descended the stairs to the Entrance Hall and met Akina. She could tell he was flustered.

"Shall we go?" She smirked at him as he straightened his haori indignantly and nodded.

They set off down the stone pathways from the castle at a walking pace.

"So you're really going to ignore the fact that you are going to get a little brother?" She asked him innocently at they touched down on the opposite side of the Main Gates. Sesshoumaru didn't reply.

"You know, I remember when you told me long ago that you would have loved to have a younger brother. When Miyuki told me you were going to get one, I was excited. I thought you'd be happy about it. Does the fact that he will be half human really matter so much? You plan on killing him before you even know what he'll be like…I can't even imagine what he'll have to face…what it will be like for him growing up even if you were not plotting his death…You know how hanyou are treated."

Sesshoumaru remained silent, seeming as though he was thinking about his answer. Her question stuck to him, though, and he frowned as they picked up their pace to a light jog. A few miles down the stretch, he turned to her, his eyes full of thought.

"But the hanyou should not be allowed life in the first place, it is an abomination and the clan will be better off if this mistake was buried in the dirt and forgotten. Why is everyone so intent on saving the little bastard?" He had little to no malice in his tone and sounded neutral.

"All life is precious, Sesshoumaru. You used to know that…what made you change?" After the question left her mouth she knew she'd said it too early. Such an inquiry would not be answered and most likely make Sesshoumaru extremely uncomfortable. As expected he just shook his head and was silent for a good long time. When dusk was beginning to fall, they had not gotten as far as he usually would have thanks to their late start.

"Should we stop or are we in a hurry?" She asked him quietly, breaking the silence. Sesshoumaru sighed and slowed to a stop near a cluster of closely growing trees that offered some shelter. It was about five feet in diameter.

"No, there is no hurry, let's stop here." He said quietly, his mind still working on what Akina had told him earlier. The sun had not yet set the whole way and he stood, leaning on one of the trees surrounding him, watching as the departing star sunk under the horizon. When darkness fell, he shifted inward to the center of the small, cozy space. He sat, leaning back on the cooling bark. Akina came next to him, fitting herself next to her friend. She was not sleepy and neither was he.

Sesshoumaru watched the stars come out one by one and let his thoughts race through his mind.

"Why does nobody else see the damage that the hanyou will cause?" He asked softly, his eyes never leaving their search of the heavens. Akina took her time before she answered him.

"I think…that you are only seeing the bad side of this while others are looking at both lights." She whispered to the night as the moon slowly brightened the dark sky.

"I fail to see what the other light is." He said bluntly, his slightly louder voice caused some small critter to rustle in a nearby bush.

"You think he will only be weak, but there is something about humans…their will to live is amazing. That with the addition of demonic power has the potential to be very strong. Think about it. Demons have the tendency to be critical and analyzing. If they are battling another whose power is greater, then they will most likely lose because they think they should lose. It makes sense that they lose because the other is stronger than they are, but humans are not made to think that way. They will fight with everything they've got and most will overcome the thing that should have struck them down because of their will power. Humans do not give up. They are relentless. That mentality combined with demon mentality could be a strong weapon, I think." Her eyes joined Sesshoumaru's in studying the stars above them with gentle eyes as the prince mulled over what she said.

"I still do not understand…but if you see the logic in it, then I will allow him to live. For now. But definitely not at my castle." He said firmly, diverting his eyes from the stars and looking off to the side, his expression stubborn. Akina smiled and turned to him, then rested her head on his shoulder next to her.

"What?" He muttered, looking down at the top of her head where he heard her mumble.

"You said 'him'."

He blanched slightly at his slip.

"Well it…it is going to be male, is it not?" He asked quickly, looking away again.

Akina laughed softly, the bright sound filling the dark night. She was relieved that some of the old Sesshoumaru she knew was still able to come to the surface at least when they were alone. It was a comforting thought with all the changes going on and she let herself fall into a peaceful, light sleep.

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**JA NE!**


	18. Tranquil Prelude

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER EIGHTEEN-:-:-:-:-

Akina blinked her eyes open as the sun rose and warmed her body. She didn't feel Sesshoumaru beside her and lifted her head. He was sitting on a low branch of one of the trees surrounding them. He was resting with one knee drawn up and his chin resting on it; his other leg dangled below, slowly swaying front and back. His eyes were pensive and deep as he watched the sun rise higher.

She shifted silently, sitting up, watching him. When the sun had risen and pushed the golden light over the land he nudged himself off the branch then slowly turned and saw she was awake.

"Oh, you're up." The prince said blithely. He held out his hand and helped her up. She brushed herself off and stretched as he waited for her to finish.

"Yep. Good morning to you too." She retorted, smirking as he had the decency to look embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, that was rude. Good morning, Akina." She nodded, still laughing slightly.

"Alright, let's go." She smiled up at him, tugging his arm gently when he seemed to hesitate. "Come on."

Even though they had a late start the day before, Sesshoumaru didn't want to rush his time with Akina. They walked through the forest in comfortable silence before, as always, Akina had to break it.

"Y'know I don't really like that." She said suddenly, as if they had been in the middle of a conversation.

"Excuse me?" He looked at her with confused eyes, his brow furrowed.

"While I do think that you should treat your unborn brother with tolerance, I also don't think it was right of Inutaishou-sama to throw his situation at you so fast and then expect you to catch it. I think if he told you in a more dignified, gradual manner then you wouldn't be so opposed to the idea of having a hanyou brother. I mean, from what you told me, he just came in one day and told you he mated with a human and didn't even really tell you she was with child; you found that out by yourself." Sesshoumaru could tell she was getting a little heated up.

"Fascinating." He smirked at her attempts to work through his problems. She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

"Now, I'm not saying that everything is his fault, but I do think he started the ball rolling." She turned to Sesshoumaru, "But I must say, you also need to work on the way you accept things," She was talking in one long flow, but paused to shake a finger at him. He looked down at her with an amused sparkle in his golden eyes and nodded her on.

"I guess both of you have things that you need to work on, but Lord Inutaishou is—"

Sesshoumaru suddenly remembered in a flash what his mother had told him in his dream the night before. His amused glittering golden eyes dimmed cold as his mind was drawn away from Akina's voice. She sensed the change in his emotion that went from content to troubled and broke off what she was saying. She looked him over, frowning with confused eyes.

"Are you alright?" She touched his arm and his head jerked up.

"Perfect." He blurted suddenly, "I'm perfectly fine." He told her, this time calmer. He sped up his stride nervously.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Um…" He faltered, his eyes shifting, "Nothing, just…spacing out." He mumbled. Akina's eyes darkened.

"Sesshoumaru, I don't want to be told lies. I know you have not 'spaced out' a single time since I've met you. You are always alert. Always. If you can't tell me what's wrong, then that's fine, but don't tell me lies." She huffed, her lips pursed.

Sesshoumaru knew his lame excuse wouldn't have fooled the unicorn. She knew him too well. He also knew that she would find out one way or another about what it was that bothered him, so he decided to just let her know about his dream.

"Alright, alright, calm down, I'll tell you," he sighed, motioning her to stop. He leapt up into a tree to sit and she followed, resting on the bough a little above him.

"So what's this all about?" She let her arm trail down and stroked the top of his head lightly in an absentminded manner.

"I had a dream a few nights ago…" He kind of trailed off, collecting his thoughts.

"…About what?" She remembered the last time he had a dream that he worried about. That was when his mother died. What could this one mean?

"Well, I don't know where I was, but it was dark with lots of white mist…and my mother came and she was speaking to me of my father's hanyou son. She also told me to hold off on killing him until I'm sure I want to do it or something like that, but just before I woke up…she told me that my time as lord was coming fast…I can't help but think that means that something is going to happen to my father…"

"Oh, Sesshoumaru…that would be horrible…" She couldn't believe this. First Seisha, and now there was a possibility of something happening to Inutaishou. The world was not being fair to Sesshoumaru at all. She shook her head. "I don't know what to say. But you know it may have just been a dream after all." She didn't even look very confident in that theory as she said it. Sesshoumaru looked at her, his face grim.

"I wish I could think that, but I just don't feel like things are going to be okay." He whispered, looking down at the forest floor thoughtfully, his stomach twisting. Akina felt that way too.

"Have you thought of speaking to your father about this?" She asked quietly, knowing he didn't even want to.

"No, he hardly believed me when I told him about my premonition of mother. He would never believe it about himself even if I could get a hold of him to tell him." Sesshoumaru suddenly slid off the branch, landing silently on the ground below. "C'mon, let's go." Akina hated how weary his voice sounded.

He should not be sounding so old when he was so young. He should be having fun as a young demon like she was able to back in her valley. She couldn't even imagine how painful it was for him. She didn't know if she would have been able to take such trials as he did in his short lifetime. Her eyes were somber as she took his offered hand and pushed off her branch as well.

As the day wore on and got hotter and the sun peaked in the sky, Akina called for a semi-needed break. Of course they could have continued going…but why, when there was a lovely cool pond just up ahead. She knew Sesshoumaru was still in a down mood and felt as if it was her obligation to at least try and cheer him up. She smiled at him consolingly and closed her eyes, beginning her transformation into her unicorn form.

A bright violet light, shielded her from him for a moment before it dimmed and left a beautiful unicorn in his place. She was so graceful and breathtakingly stunning that Sesshoumaru couldn't help but feel a bit heartened by her presence. He reached out a hand and gently petted her mane, stroking the soft deep golden locks, then running his fingers over the shimmering silver coat. She whinnied at him, large doe eyes sparkling, asking him to transform also and have fun in the water.

He ran his hand over her head, his fingers brushing her golden horn, then trailing down between her eyes to rub underneath her chin. His eyes were soft, but he shook his head. He didn't feel like transforming or playing. She nudged her nose to his hand, persistently, but he shook his head again.

"I'm sorry; I don't feel like it." His hand fell to his side and smiled softly to her, "But thank you for offering."

He sat heavily on a log while she trotted to the pond, watching fish scamper out of her way. The hot rays of sun shimmered and the thick smell of damp earth and grass hung pleasantly in the air. She flicked water at the pensive dog demon and got a half-hearted smile. He rose and pulled himself to the edge of the pond where he folded his legs beneath him and gazed into the scintillating reflection staring back. He drew his finger slowly over the surface, rippling his double.

Lying down in the cool water, Akina lowered her head and made a small, low, unhappy noise in her chest. Sesshoumaru looked up; her large, violet eyes were level with his and he smiled slightly at her concern.

"Don't worry about it," he said as he patted her head.

She lifted out of the water and hopped lightly onto the sandy gravel ringing the pond, her hooves sinking into it. She shook off water, and in a prolonged flash of violet light, Akina reappeared in her humanoid form, her eyes understanding.

She would have liked it if Sesshoumaru let himself go and play in the water a bit, but it was too soon for that in his current state. She linked her arm in his in a friendly manner and joined him in walking slowly again.

The twilight set in and the two stopped to rest for the night. Resting was unnecessary of course, but it was a good time for them to talk.

"So what kind of training have you been doing?" Asked Sesshoumaru as they sat in a tree. He rested his back against the trunk and she smiled haughtily.

"That, I cannot tell you, my friend. But…I can show you. What would you like to see? Nothing too big though, I don't want to put anything out of its natural order," warned Akina, sprightly hopping down from her branch, beaming up at him. He thought for a second and then reached out and plucked an acorn from the tree he was sitting in. He dropped it on the ground.

"Can you make that grow?" He watched her from his perch as she smiled.

"Simple!" Akina chimed, kneeling down to the tiny nut. She gently pushed it under a thin layer of dirt like a farmer planting a precious crop, and then placed both her hands on top of it. Her two pointer fingers and thumbs formed a triangle around it. She closed her eyes and Sesshoumaru could feel a rushing of power as if a great wave had just washed past him and her hands glowed with a dim violet light.

Between the triangle of her fingers, a tiny sprout pushed through the earth. It slowly grew leaves and the twig of a trunk twitched as if the wind were flicking it at as it lengthened. When it was a sapling around two feet tall, Akina stopped applying her power and stood slowly, taking a deep breath.

"I'll let it grow on its own from here." She fingered the green leaves proudly, and then looked up at Sesshoumaru who seemed impressed.

"That's amazing, Akina." He praised, though his voice lacked much enthusiasm. "What did you mean before when you said 'nothing too big'?"

"Oh, just nothing like a typhoon or a thunder storm or creating a lake…those types of things toy with the natural system of the earth and can cause environmental problems. Like if I drew up enough water to make a lake, then that water would have to have come from somewhere. To put water here would be to take water away from somewhere else and that's no good." She explained as he nodded sagely.

"Yes, I understand that." He silent for a while and then he asked, "Can you really create storms like typhoons?"

"Oh, yes. It's very difficult and drains a lot of my energy, but I learned how." She leaped back into the tree, her legs like steel springs. As she lounged on her branch like a sleeping jaguar she looked over to Sesshoumaru. "So what have you been doing for training?"

"Mostly weaponry. It's hard to train my true form because not many demons at the castle are strong enough to put up a fight."

"Oh, so you're that strong, huh?" She asked playfully, as if mocking his prowess. He shrugged.

"It's not my fault they're too weak."

"Yeah, I guess." She agreed loftily, putting her arms behind her head comfortably.

…

A few minutes before morning broke the next day, Akina pushed herself off from her branch, dropping to the soft forest floor and stretching. Sesshoumaru also returned to the ground and waited on Akina to finish loosening up. She finally motioned for him to come and they began the last day of rounds.

"So what do you plan to do about that premonition of yours?" Akina asked softly after they'd been walking silently for a few minutes.

"I…don't know. I hope that it was just a dream. I don't know what I'd do if I had to run the Western Lands."

"You know I'd help you." Akina said reassuringly.

"Yes…I know, but…but…" He trailed off frowning at the ground in front of his feet as he walked.

"But what?"

"I know I've lost most of the faith I had in my father when he went and mated with the human, but he's still my father and I don't want anything to happen to him. I'll have to tell him, whether he believes me or not. It is the right thing to do…"

"I think you're right, but how will you reach him? You're needed at the castle, and I need to return back to the North soon."

"I'll send a messenger with a letter to father. I hate to tell him like that, but he needs to know and that would be the only way." He said, not sounding pleased by the means of communication, but looked resolute.

"That's a good idea."

oOo

Night had fallen by the time the two approached the Main Gates of the Western Castle. They leapt over it, waving to the guard as they passed and they were greeted by Miyuki as they ascended the steps into the Entrance Hall.

"Welcome back, My Prince. How were your rounds?" Said the Panther politely, bowing deeply at his waist.

"Fine." Sesshoumaru replied shortly, walking past his servant. Akina looked at him with a hidden exasperated look. Miyuki watched him go past with sad eyes and then turned to Akina.

"Welcome back Akina-sama. How were your rounds with Prince Sesshoumaru?" The Panther Demon bowed once more.

"Very pleasant, Miyuki, thank you for asking." She replied extra politely to make up for her brother's brusqueness. Miyuki made a face and she laughed softly at his exaggerated surprised expression and patted him on his shoulder, still smiling. "He's not as different as you think." And with that she went past him too and followed Sesshoumaru's path.

She went through the halls, not even thinking of the twists and turns of her travel to her brother's study, knowing the route by heart already. She came to his door and knocked. Normally she wouldn't have knocked and just have let herself in, but she felt like now she should show respect seeing as how Sesshoumaru wanted his servants and other various castle residents to fear him.

"Come in, Akina." She heard Sesshoumaru say. The unicorn pushed open the door and stepped in, closing it softly behind her. Sesshoumaru was at his desk with a scroll in front of him. There was some writing on it, but presently he had his ink pen hovering above the paper, thinking of what to put down next.

"Is that the message to your father?" She sidled up behind him, looking curiously over his shoulder at the paper.

"Yes it is. I thought I should write it as soon as possible." He scratched out more characters with his ink pen. The ink pen was a new invention in his era and he had gotten it when Miyuki brought it for him as a present some time ago. He brought it up to get more ink and Akina read what he'd written, nodding in approval.

She hung over his shoulder until he finished, pointing out one or two things to him and suggesting things for him to put in. When he stood and rolled up the message, he snapped his fingers. A servant ported in, already in mid-bow when he appeared. The servant straightened, but kept his eyes low. Akina could tell he was fearful of Sesshoumaru.

"Yes, My Prince?" The servant's voice trembled just a bit. Akina was actually surprised at how still the servant was able to keep it considering how much she could hear his knees trembling.

"Take this letter to the messengers. Tell them to transport it to my father." He thrust the rolled, sealed, and tied letter at the young servant who fumbled with it comically, the letter bouncing in his hands before he caught it. He looked up at his prince as if expecting a death penalty for being so clumsy. The taiyoukai glared down at the servant with disgust.

"Out of my sight. Now." He ordered roughly, turning and striding to his desk.

"Ano, My Prince…" This time he was not able to keep out the tremble. Sesshoumaru rounded on him, his eyes blazing. Akina watched from the side, an amused glimmer in her violet eyes.

"What?" He snapped, staring down the servant.

"W-what is the status of the message?"

"Urgent, of course! Now get out!" He snarled, making Akina raise her eyebrows in light surprise.

"Yes, sir!" The servant jumped with fright and then ported out hurriedly. When the demon left, Sesshoumaru huffed impatiently and then went around to sit at his desk, pulling papers towards him and starting to scratch away. Akina took a seat to the side of the room quietly, thinking she shouldn't bother him when he needed to work. After a few minutes of this, Sesshoumaru spoke. His voice sounded weary.

"Why are you so quiet?" He didn't look up from his paper as she shrugged.

"I thought I shouldn't bother you since you are trying to work." She fiddled with her fingers, having nothing else to do.

"You can go out to the grounds if you want to." He continued to scratch at the paper underneath his ink pen, finishing with one and then pulling another towards him from his large stack. Akina hesitated for a moment before rising.

"Alright, I guess." She didn't really want to leave Sesshoumaru to do his work alone and felt like she was abandoning him, but it was so boring just sitting in the room and plus, it was his idea that she do something to occupy her time.

"When I'm finished I'll meet you out there." She nodded and opened the balcony, leisurely jumping off the railing and landing below. The night was late as she sauntered around the grounds, her eyes on the bright moon in the sky. She walked around a little bit, enjoying the cool breeze when Miyuki ported in.

"Hello, Akina-sama. I realized that you would have a bit of free time while Prince Sesshoumaru is working, so I took the liberty of preparing a nice location for you to sit and read if you would like." He said with a smile after he bowed her greeting. Akina beamed up at the tall Panther Demon.

"Yes, that would be wonderful! You are so thoughtful, Miyuki, I don't know how Sesshoumaru makes himself be rude to you."

"He is my master, Akina-sama; He can do anything he wants with me." Miyuki told her sadly. She was going to reply, but the Panther began speaking first.

"So, Akina-sama, if you will come this way…" He led her over to a blossoming cherry tree. On many limbs there were glowing lantern hanging to give her light to read by and underneath the pink limbs, there was a magnificent pile of large, extremely soft pillows. On the right of them was a stack of books.

"Oh, this is so nice, Miyuki, thank you!" She hugged him around his waist then released him. She flopped down onto the bed of pillows with an 'ouff' and giggled as the soft materials felt like they were swallowing her like a giant, squashy monster.

"My pleasure, Akina-sama." He ported out after he bowed. Akina joyously began reading and before she knew it, the sun had risen and Sesshoumaru as walking up to her.

"Hey. You're finished with your work already?" she looked up from her book, her eyes surprised. She had been so intent on her reading that she didn't notice the time going by.

"Yes. Did Miyuki prepare this for you?"

"Yes he did! Isn't he wonderful?"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer, and only sat down next to her and picked up a book that Akina had already finished.

He was disappointed that there was, again, no news of the Dragon in the western rift valley. His eyebrows rose as he realized that the book he was reading just happened to be about Dragons and he immersed himself in it without further ado. Akina watched as he fell into the book. She shook her head, smiling, and then settled herself snuggly against him, her own book in her hand.

Shortly after, a consultant ported in, bowing to the two of them. Akina looked up, but Sesshoumaru physically ignored him, his eyes still sweeping the page of the book in his hands.

"Prince Sesshoumaru, I must inform you that it is time for your philosophy, geography, and logic lessons." The demon had a copy of his schedule under his arm which seemed like it was only getting larger as the years wore on. Sesshoumaru sighed and stood slowly, setting down his book.

"I'll see you later, Akina." He said grudgingly, turning and walking with the consultant back to the castle.

"Alright, I'll be here." She waved goodbye, thoroughly feeling sorry for him.

The day seemed to have run out of steam as it floated by slowly for Akina. She found herself unable to concentrate on the page in front of her and reread a single line many times over before she got frustrated and finally set it down. She lay back in the bed of soft, enveloping pillows with her hands behind her head.

She was gazing up at the clouds through the blossom-laden branches when she felt a presence beside her and sat up.

"Good afternoon, Akina-sama." It was Miyuki. As he bowed to her she spotted a message in his hands.

"Good afternoon. What is that you have, Miyuki?"

"It is a letter that was sent in reply for Prince Sesshoumaru. Lord Inutaishou was not able to get the message because he is currently out of contact. By what the Foxes told out messenger, Lord Inutaishou has gone to evacuate the Dragon from the western rift valley." Said Miyuki, his face straight, though Akina could tell he was apprehensive about giving the bad news to Sesshoumaru.

"Well, Sesshoumaru is in his geography lesson, so…" She trailed off, looking at him curiously.

"Yes, I know. I don't want to interrupt his lesson and in the meantime, I thought you should know about what was going on."

"Oh, well thank you." She leaned back on the pillows, relaxing her body. Miyuki nodded, a small smile on his lips. He was happy to serve someone who was grateful. Sure, he cared for Sesshoumaru and knew what he was going through, but it felt good to be recognized for his efforts.

"It's so wonderful to be back here, I'm going to miss it when I'm gone. We have helpers up at the Unicorn Valley, but no servants as wonderful as you."

"Thank you, Akina-sama. Your words are much appreciated. I must go now; Prince Sesshoumaru should be leaving his lesson now."

"Alright, I'll come with you. Sesshoumaru will most likely not be happy with the news." She felt that Miyuki was very relieved with her idea and she smiled at him comfortingly. She rose from the swath of pillows with a helping hand from Miyuki and they walked slowly back to the castle in comfortable silence.

As they went up the few stairs to the Entrance Hall, they encountered Sesshoumaru on his way out. He looked at the two of them suspiciously.

"Hello, Sesshoumaru-kun, how was your lesson?" Akina started, putting on a smile.

"Informative." He answered simply. Miyuki stepped closer to the Prince, gesturing to a hallway.

"Prince Sesshoumaru, shall we go to the Conference Hall? There is a letter you must receive." Sesshoumaru paused for a second before he nodded allowing himself to be led to the Conference Hall.

Once they were settled, Miyuki took out the scroll and spread it out on the table for his prince to see. Sesshoumaru's eyes swept over it, his scowl blackening with each line he read.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

**A/N: lets see exactly how this plays out…**

**Ja Ne**


	19. Lord

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER NINETEEN-:-:-:-:-

"What is this?" He snatched up the unfurled scroll, rising from his seat and beginning to pace the floor. "Why wouldn't he let messages be given to him just because he is going to evacuate the Dragon?" He demanded, his voice deceptively calm. He loosened his grip on the letter and it sprang back into a scroll. He held the cylindrical paper tightly in his hand, looking to Miyuki for an answer. The Panther cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Well, perhaps Lord Inutaishou was looking out for others' safely. An encounter with a Dragon would be inevitably fatal for anyone other than him; if a messenger tried to give him a letter while Ryukotsusei was near, they would be in a very high-risk situation." He said logically, trying to make sure Sesshoumaru remained calm. Akina could tell what Sesshoumaru was thinking. He thought that the dragon was what he was having the bad feelings about, and it was very possible.

According to the time, Akina though that it was close to the birth of Sesshoumaru's half-brother and thought it was weird that Inutaishou would do something like this so close to the important moment. She didn't voice this, however, knowing that it would mean nothing to Sesshoumaru. So, she just nodded along with Miyuki's theory.

"That makes sense." She agreed. Sesshoumaru continued to pace the floor. Miyuki didn't understand why this was making his prince so nervous. The dragon was low class and he had no idea why Sesshoumaru thought it was a threat for the great Dog Demon Lord. His curiosity took control of his mouth and his natural outspokenness made him blurt out before he could check himself.

"Why is this making you so anxious, Prince Sesshoumaru? I don't understand why you are so worried," he said thoughtfully. Sesshoumaru settled him with hot, piercing eyes.

"Nothing that concerns you," he bit out. From his peripheral vision he caught Akina's disapproving look. He scowled back at her, but then soon returned to pacing. Miyuki looked from one to the other, confused. He did not know about Sesshoumaru's small warning his mother gave him in his dream, and Sesshoumaru did not plan to tell him.

The taiyoukai wanted to go after his father himself, but he knew he would not be allowed to. He only just came off rounds, so he wouldn't be able to leave the castle again for at least two weeks. And even then he would have to fight his way out to get away from his consultants. But if this was the moment his mother had been hinting about, then he would not show up too late to help. Not this time.

oOo

Just outside the Bear Territory, Inutaishou rested on a boulder as night fell for that day. He had just started out on his way to evacuate the Dragon in the rift valley. He let others think that he just figured it would be good for him to get it out of the way before he went to Izayoi's village. His son's birth was fast approaching and he had to be present for it. The village was on the coast of the Western Lands, where the ground met the sea. The rift valley was in between his current location and Izayoi's village.

He let his body rest as his mind remained alert. The silence of the forest was only slightly rippled by a soft bubbling brook nearby. He let the peaceful time calm his mind, but suddenly, from the folds of his robes, a high-pitch voice broke the silence like a siren.

"Master, need I tell you again that it is foolish to get rid of the dragon before the birth of your son? Evacuating a Dragon is not something that can be done overnight. It will fight back." A small Flea Demon hopped onto the back of Inutaishou's hand as it rested on his knee.

"I know that, Myoga, but I need to do this." His deep voice was calm and steady.

"But why? You keep telling me that you must, but you won't tell me why."

"Myoga, you know you are invaluable to me, but there are things I must keep, even from you."

"Alright, but I think you are making a bad decision." The Flea Demon looked at him for a moment, as if expecting him to change his mind. When Inutaishou didn't reply, the Flea shook his head and took off, knowing there would be danger in the upcoming situations concerning the Dragon.

…

Near the middle of the night, Inutaishou restarted his journey to the Rift Valley. He was fully rejuvenated by only a few hours of physical rest. As he walked steadily through the forest, he felt a light pressure on the side of his cheek. He swiftly slapped a hand to his face.

"Myoga, I thought you ran away." He pulled his hand away and in his palm was the flattened Flea Demon.

"My apologies Master, but your blood is so delicious!" The Flea crooned.

"What is it that you came to tell me?" Inutaishou asked wearily.

"Oh, yes…I've been investigating the Dragon, and it is very strong. I feel like I must tell you again that this is a bad idea. But aside from that, I have also collected information on Lady Izayoi's situation in her village, and it is not looking good, Master."

"What do you mean?" He was listening intently now to his small advisor's words.

"The new village has discovered that the baby is going to be hanyou. The man called Takemaru is also looking suspicious. He was an ardent suitor of Lady Izayoi even though she thought he was just her friend. He is actually furious that she has been taken by a Demon and she has no idea of his anger."

"What does that mean to me? A human's anger would be no match for mine."

"But Lady Izayoi is currently in his grasp, and is very pregnant. An anger-blinded human in that position could do anything." Myoga was obviously very worried about Izayoi and had no qualms about his lord mating with a human.

"No human would dare touch what is mine," he said rationally.

"I would not bank on that, Master. He seemed…unstable."

"I will get there in time."

"But…"

"Myoga, you've done well collecting information and I am grateful, but you must know your place. I have already made up my mind."

"Yes, Master," Myoga sulked.

"Myoga, I want you to go to Izayoi's village and find out more about the human Takemaru. If he is really planning on harming Izayoi that means that she would not be expecting it. Her trust in him would shield her eyes. If anything happens, come to get me," he said, his voice very severe and low.

"Yes, Master." Myoga replied resentfully. He hopped out of Inutaishou's hand and disappeared.

Days sped by as the Dog Demon Lord strode swiftly and silently through the trees. On the fifth day, the forest was thinning and he could hear the thunderous rumbling of a Dragon.

It was morning, and the rumbling was quiet. It was low and constant, signaling that the dragon was sleeping. The trees had receded long ago, and over the vast emptiness, he saw the immense rift valley. He stood there for a while, collecting himself so he could force the Dragon out.

He took slow steps to the ledge of the valley and looked over, and there was the Dragon, Ryukotsusei. It was coiled at the bottom of the deep rift. Inutaishou suddenly sensed Myoga and sure enough he heard his voice next to his ear. He was frantic.

"Master, Master!" He cried, jumping up and down on his shoulder.

"What, Myoga?" Inutaishou hissed, keeping his eyes on the slumbering Dragon. They had excellent hearing and he didn't want to awaken it just yet…

"Lady Izayoi has gone into labor! The baby is coming soon!"

Adrenaline seared through Inutaishou's heart and a hot flush arrested his body in a matter of nanoseconds.

"WHAAAT?" He bellowed, his eyes wild.

"My Lord!" The ground began shaking violently. Inutaishou moved his feet deftly under him to keep his balance centered as the ground heaved beneath him. "Master!" Myoga cried, clinging to his lord's clothes.

"Go, Myoga!"

"Go where?" He almost lost his grip.

"Sesshoumaru! Get Sesshoumaru!" The ground heaved again and Myoga flew off.

"Yes, Master!" He yelled as he sped away.

Just at that moment, the ground broke beneath him and he fell through the crumbling dirt. The wind rushed by him as he searched for a hold. There was none, but he landed on his feet when he hit the ground after a vehement struggle in the air. Clumps of earth buried him temporarily before he broke out of it. He shook off the dirt hurriedly and craned his head up towards the sky. The gigantic snake-like Dragon towered over him.

"What are you doing here?" The mask on the forehead of the Dragon spoke, its voice deep and rumbling.

"Are you the Dragon Ryukotsusei?" Inutaishou asked, controlling his own voice to be deep and firm. He ignored the creature's question.

"I am. And you are the revered Lord of the Western Lands who has just come tumbling foolishly into my new home, are you not?" Ryukotsusei replied, mocking humor in his thunderous tone.

"I am." Inutaishou returned simply, ignoring the little jibe. These introductions were just a formality, of course; they both knew why the other was there. The Dog Demon Lord was less than pleased with his entrance, but took it all in stride.

"You have invaded my lands and taken up residence. I will not allow such a malevolent intrusion." The daiyoukai could feel the air sparking with ki as the Dragon already began preparing for a fight. He knew his next words would fall on deaf ears, so he readied himself too. "You have two choices. Either leave my lands on your own, or I will force you!"

As soon as the last word left his mouth, his eyes flashed red and his jaw elongated. A yellow haze surrounded him only moments after and his aura skyrocketed. Seconds later, a colossal dog burst from the yellow light. It leapt over the roaring Dragon in one great bound and hit the earth causing it to rumble. The giant paws pounded the ground with each step as he turned to face his enemy, snarling and baring his teeth, venomous toxins dripping.

Inutaishou roared, matching the Dragon for height as he reared. He spread his deadly claws and brought them down, planning a swift fatal attack.

There was only one thing on his mind: to finish this battle quickly so he could get to Izayoi's village and protect her from the senile human, Takemaru. That, though, was not the most productive thing to be clouding his mind in the midst of a dangerous fight.

As he reared purposefully, the mask on the forehead of the Dragon smirked.

"Foolish Lord! To make such an error, you are not fit for your position!" As Inutaishou reared on his back legs—he left his vulnerable underside wide open. He realized his slip and tried to twist to the side, aborting his attack; however, Ryukotsusei was too fast. The Dragon's crimson eyes shone with malicious joy and it leaned back, opening its mouth wide.

Energy rapidly gathered between its jaws, growing larger and brighter. Crackling, lightning energy filled the air along with the roar of incredible energy. Inutaishou's colossal silhouette flashed against the rock face as Ryukotsusei clamped its jaws shut, releasing the energy ball. The attack caught the dog on his side, carving a deep gouge in his flesh. The Demon Lord's white fur rapidly stained crimson red as blood spilled from the wound.

He growled as his two front paws hit the ground heavily and he wavered, cursing himself for his stupidity.

The mask upon the forehead of the Dragon laughed raucously and it slowly unhinged its jaws again, spreading his teeth wide, preparing for another attack. Inutaishou saw it gathering energy in its mouth again from the corner of his eye as he was assessing his damage.

His body tensed and his fangs bared, toxins dripping from his jaws. His muzzle wrinkled as he snarled. His blood red eyes looked this way and that, judging his situation and formulating a plan. The energy ball was exceptionally larger this time, and it was getting larger still. The Dog's heavy breathing was drowned out again by the sound of immense energy reaching a breaking point.

In a split second, the Dragon snapped its jaws and the attack was released. Inutaishou acted quickly. He leapt to the wall of the deep rift just as the immense sphere launched from the Dragon's mouth. He waited for as long as he felt comfortable and then he ricochet himself off of the wall, ducking low as he skidded against the ground. The mass of energy passed right over his head, shaving off a few hairs before it crashed into the rift wall, showering them with rubble.

Amidst the veil of dust hanging in the air, the Dog Demon Lord located the Dragon and leapt at its shadow in the thick dust, tearing at it voraciously with fangs and claws. But it the haze of the rubble, Ryukotsusei fired blindly with smaller energy attacks. One caught Inutaishou on his hind leg and another on the side of his face. He was starting to become light headed as his wounds bled open.

The dust from his second attack was finally clearing and Inutaishou shot straight for him, head on. His ear-shattering roar reverberated through the rift valley and he reared, throwing his body weight against Ryukotsusei and pinning the Dragon against the rift wall. Huge boulders plummeted onto them from overhead, but Inutaishou was too far gone in his anger to register pain any longer.

His jaws snapped menacingly in Ryukotsusei's face, teeth gnashing like a rabid dog. The mask on the Dragon's head bellowed with outrage and pain, its blood red eyes open wide. Inutaishou's deafening roar filled the valley again and he slashed an unforgiving claw into the near impenetrable scales of the Dragon's midsection, red crimson blood stained him and he snatched back his claw and attacked again, searching for that one fatal spot.

This second time, he succeeded in piercing the Dragon directly in its heart which he knew would undoubtedly paralyze it in suspended animation. Poison spewed from his claws, entering the Dragon's ripped flesh. He bared his teeth and hunched over Ryukotsusei's pinned body, ramming his claw clean through and into the rift wall behind it. And with a roar, he broke off his claw, more blood flowing from his body. He slumped down to his haunches as Ryukotsusei bellowed with fury, writhing against the claw. Inutaishou watched as it slowly quieted, the paralysis setting in.

He sat there only a few seconds after Ryukotsusei became still, his breathing loud in the suddenly silent twilight. He stood suddenly, turned and jumped. Landing outside of the rift valley, Inutaishou ran, leaving a trail of blood with each bound.

oOo

Sesshoumaru was sitting in his study getting through his paperwork at a high speed. The seasons were changing and the air had been gradually getting colder and colder when finally just the previous night it began to snow. Sesshoumaru was absently gazing out of his open balcony doors when Miyuki barged into the room without knocking. The prince looked up, frowning.

"Miyuki, you know you are not to enter in that manner." He scolded with narrowed eyes.

"My apologies, Prince Sesshoumaru, but there is an apparently urgent visitor." The panther was visibly annoyed and his tone was curt.

"Well, what is that supposed to mean?" Sesshoumaru snapped, pausing in his writing. Miyuki approached his prince's desk, closed his eyes and leaned forward slightly. Sesshoumaru's eyebrow rose and he tipped back a bit, smirking.

"I'm flattered, but I do not favor males, Miyuki, you should know that." He remained calm as the Panther's eyes flew open and he spluttered.

"D-don't be ridiculous, Prince Sesshoumaru!" Then he turned his head and spoke to his own shoulder, "C'mon, you dang flea! You're making me look like a fool!"

"Patience! I've had a long journey!" A small speck jumped off of Miyuki's shoulder and onto Sesshoumaru's desk. The Prince eyed the diminutive demon with distaste, but cold fear involuntarily crept up his spine.

"Why are you here, Myoga? If you are here, then that means that my father has gotten himself into some kind of danger, isn't that right?" Sesshoumaru demanded coldly. "You have run away yet again?"

"Ahem! For your information, mighty Prince, I did not run away. I was ordered by your father to retrieve you," disclosed the flea as he sat down comfortably on the desk's surface.

"For what purpose?" Ground out Sesshoumaru from between his gritted teeth. He was getting more and more fed up with the cowardly flea as seconds ticked by.

"That…he did not tell me, for the very ground beneath us was giving way." Myoga nodded sagely. Sesshoumaru ran a hand impatiently over his face and groaned.

"The ground was giving way to what?"

"Why, Ryukotsusei of course! That Dragon has some temper, I tell you…"

"Yes, fine, Myoga. Skip the story-time, alright?" Snapped the Prince as he rose from his chair. "Where is my father? Just answer that and then you can talk to yourself as much as you please," he bit out testily, going around to the front of his desk. Myoga crossed his four arms with a huff.

"You're lucky this is an emergency or I just wouldn't—"

"Emergency? By the rate you're speaking, I thought that father was asking me out for tea! Where is he? Do your damned job, coward, and tell me!" Growled the Prince as he slammed his fist to the polished wood. The flea jumped and wiped his small, balding head.

"Yes, of course. When I saw him last, Lord Inutaishou was at the rift valley. But if all went well, then he should be on his way to Lady Izayoi's village. Come, young Prince, we must go quickly! Forget your paperwork! Come!" He hopped up and down on the desk impatiently. Sesshoumaru strode to the door, snatching the flea out of midair on his way, and Miyuki bowed to him as he left.

The Prince strode through the corridors and then shot off as he cleared the Entrance Hall. Myoga flapped behind him, clinging to his long silver hair and he ran without speaking, just following the strong scent of his father's blood.

After a few hours, they came upon the rift valley, the stench of blood hung almost tangible in the air. Sesshoumaru saw the Dragon's body pinned below in the rift valley as he glanced down at it, and kept on going.

Outside of the valley, the trail of blood was visible and he followed it at high speed. Now, as the Prince neared the shore where the western lands met water, only a few miles down from Izayoi's village, he stopped, spotting his father in the distance. The daiyoukai was facing the ocean as waves crashed upon the shore. Blood dripped from his body, staining the white snow crimson red. He walked up to his father, his eyes glinting angrily. This was not like when his mother died. His father was consciously killing himself.

"If you come back to the castle now, then you will live. But you won't do that, will you?" He spat out, his voice low. He knew his father's wounds were fatal if he didn't get help. Inutaishou remained silent. "Father, do you insist on going?"

"Do you intend to stop me, Sesshoumaru?"

"I will not stand in your way. However, before you go, you must entrust the swords Sounga and Tetsusaiga to me." Sesshoumaru had known of the swords and their powers since he was young. He knew of the strength of Tetsusaiga and the morbid techniques of Sounga. He also knew of the Tenseiga, but the abilities of the resurrecting sword held no interest to him. He would be sure to become the strong ruler his father failed to be.

"And if I refuse, will you kill me? Your own father? Do you desire power so much? Why do you seek power, my son?"

"The path I walk is the way of Supreme Conquest, and it is power that will reveal the way for me." This seemed obvious to Sesshoumaru.

"Supreme Conquest? Tell me, Sesshoumaru…have you someone to protect?"

"Protect? The answer is no. I, Sesshoumaru, have no need of such." Again, obvious.

Sesshoumaru watched as blood dripped from the man's body as it transformed with a painful roar and bounded away without a backwards glance. The Prince stood there, fists twitching and his eyebrows drawn together only slightly, though inside he was boiling with rage. His eyes were shadowed in the dead of the winter night as snow fell about him, blanketing the already white ground.

"Why would I have any reason to waste my time protecting someone? Ridiculous. I would end up like you." He snarled to the night, turning and striding in the opposite direction. Hours later, in the middle of the night, the taiyoukai returned to the castle where Miyuki met him at the Entrance Hall, his expression apprehensive.

"Prince Sesshoumaru, what happened?" asked the Panther gently.

Sesshoumaru walked passed him then stopped, his back to Miyuki, shaking his head.

"No. Not Prince."

"Lord…Sesshoumaru?"

He was silent.

Miyuki's eyes closed painfully for a second, his teeth clenched and he swallowed thickly, then he looked at Sesshoumaru. When he spoke, his voice was tight and wavered slightly.

"I will begin preparations for your inaugural banquet, My Lord," he murmured. The Panther turned his back and walked away. Sesshoumaru went directly to his chambers, and closed the doors behind him. He leaned back against them, his head bowed.

"I'll be here to help you, you know."

He looked up slowly into Akina's sorrowful violet eyes. He didn't even care how she'd been in his room without him noticing, and just nodded.

"I know."


	20. Next Chapter

-:-:-:-:-CHAPTER TWENTY-:-:-:-:-

Many years had passed since the day Sesshoumaru's father died and the young Prince was shoved into being the Lord of the Western Lands. Not only did he have to do everything he was already saddled with, but he had to shoulder the Bear and Fox clans' conflict.

He kept the peace over the years, but only managed to do just that. Along the years, with other issues at hand, Sesshoumaru lost grip of the clans and a war broke out. It was one of the worst in the Western Land's history and Sesshoumaru had to call on all of his father's old allies for help.

Akina had indeed stayed, but she could not get involved with issues in the West such as war. It was not her place as heir of the North to meddle with other Lands' issues.

The battles were bloody, and were not improving in the least. Many of Sesshoumaru's men died.

Presently, Sesshoumaru was in the Entrance Hall, about to leave again to see how the war was going. He had been thinking hard the past few days but he was still at a loss at how to subdue the fighting.

One day when he was out at the allies' camp, trying to make up a strategy, his vassal, Jaken, came running up to him. The imp scrambled to bow.

"My Lord! I bring terrible news!" He looked fearfully up at his master, trembling slightly from head to toe.

"What is it?" Sesshoumaru demanded, glaring down at the advisor. The clouds above where grey and dismal and were contributing to Sesshoumaru's foul mood. His severe molten eyes seared the small imp and when he spoke, it was with even more trembling than before.

"Forgive me, but I acted on my own and went to fetch Inuyasha! He may be a half demon, but he's still your father's son!" He fell into a deep bow, praying that he would not be struck for his audacity.

"I see. Where is he? What, is he too cowardly to show himself? Or did he simply refuse to come to his brother's aid?" He asked, with a slight sneer in his voice. He was not thrilled that Jaken had went behind his back, but—and he hated to admit it even just to himself—the imp would have been right. He was too proud himself to ever ask for the hanyou's help, but the little bastard possibly could be of assistance. Also, in the back of his mind, he thought it would be nice if the runt died in battle. It would definitely be a death celebrated in Sesshoumaru's mind.

"Neither, I'm afraid that he's been placed under a spell." Jaken said, standing up and clutching the Staff of Heads.

"A spell?" The Lord breathed, not at all pleased. This was disgraceful and shameful to his clan. Heat rose in his chest, but he repressed the urge to kill whatever was closest to him.

"Indeed. He lost his heart to a mortal priestess and fell prey to her sacred powers." Jaken reported, a disgusted sneer easily heard in his impish voice.

"How foolish of him," Sesshoumaru replied dispassionately, his eyes glinting angrily.

"Yes…" agreed the green toad, nodding his head.

Sesshoumaru couldn't say he was disappointed, but he was still frustrated. It figured that the runt would be so stupid. It really steamed him that his father's blood ran through the bastard's veins and he was carrying out all of his idiocy in his name, but this was just unbelievably careless. It was disgraceful and just so frustrating. He calmed himself and peered down at Jaken. The toad began trembling fearfully again.

"Fine." He hissed, walking passed the frazzled retainer to address his group of allies.

That was the first and only day Sesshoumaru ever thought of giving his half brother a chance. Since that day, Sesshoumaru made up his mind that he would kill his hanyou half-brother and eliminate the weak link in the pure Dog Demon lineage. There was no use for the hanyou in the world and if there was anything to be said, he was doing the little bastard a favor.

oOo

Since then, about fifty years had passed. The war settled for the time being and Lord Sesshoumaru was closer to bringing the feuding clans into a truce than ever before. For the first time since he was young, the West was in relative peace. Sesshoumaru even had less paperwork and more time on rounds; and everything was looking up.

Of course all good things had to end.

He had been running a research project on the side, trying to figure out where his father hid the other two swords that were in his possession, Tetsusaiga and Sounga. One of the many things he despised his father for most was bestowing upon him the useless sword of healing and resurrection—Tenseiga.

One day in his study, Miyuki ported in with a rushed bow. When he surfaced there was a pleased smile on his face and opened his mouth to speak, but moments later Jaken came bursting through the door, panting.

"My Lord!" The imp cried running towards Sesshoumaru. Miyuki quickly stuck out his foot just a bit, making the advisor trip and skid across the marble floor on his face. When there was so little good news to report to the Lord, everyone wanted the pleasure of telling him themselves. Especially since when bad news had to be relayed, no one wanted the responsibility of doing so. Sesshoumaru had a nasty tendency to slay the messenger.

Miyuki straightened, clearing his throat as Sesshoumaru surveyed the Panther through indifferent eyes.

"My Lord, the elite search team has found another site where Tetsusaiga could be located. They think this really is the place." Miyuki said calmly.

Sesshoumaru listened to the servant's words coolly. He sat back slowly in his chair, looking up at the ceiling.

"'Where one can see, but cannot be seen. The place where its own keeper cannot look upon.' Do they really think they've found it?" He asked, his voice skeptical.

"Yes, my Lord, they do. When will you be leaving?"

"Today." He stood and strode evenly to the door. "Come, Jaken. Bring the Staff of Heads. I will see if it really is the right grave."

oOo

The trip was unproductive just as Sesshoumaru thought. The Staff of Heads persisted in changing the direction it led them in and Sesshoumaru was tired of the wild goose chase.

"Sesshoumaru-sama." Jaken began, trembling at having to address his Lord when he was so angered. They were in a forcefully acquired boat, heading to a destination that the demon Lord did not see fit to inform Jaken of.

"What?" He replied calmly, though a thick layer of venom coated his tone.

"The whereabouts of the grave…wouldn't that Inuyasha know?" He squawked hesitantly, his large yellow eyes pleading his Lord not to punish him.

"Inuyasha…It is not a name I would like to recall." His anger spiked and he swung back his arm, launching Jaken off the boat and into the icy waters. The Lord calmly grasped the retainer's staff and with it, forced the imp under the surface.

"Forgive me!" Jaken garbled, fighting for air and clawing for the surface.

"First of all, he is no longer alive. Wasn't he sealed away fifty years ago?"

"The—the thing is, I heard that his seal was broken recently…" He went under before spluttering up above the surface again, "Besides, the staff's pointed course changed its location. I just thought it might have something to do with Inuyasha being awake again!" He went under once more. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and he continued to hold the imp under.

"By the way, Sesshoumaru-sama…please remove the staff…" He gargled, bubbles issuing from his mouth until he lost his air and went unconscious. His tiny green body floated to the surface and Sesshoumaru deftly fished him out with the tip of the staff, dropping him into the boat none too gently. He threw the staff on top of the imp's body and thankfully utilized the rare quiet moment to process the information swirling in his head.

"'Where one can see, but cannot be seen. The place where its own keeper cannot look upon.'" He repeated to himself. That was the clue to the location of Tetsusaiga, but it made no sense. "Where one can see…but cannot be seen. The place where its own keeper cannot look upon, but where one can see…where you cannot look upon? What does that mean…?" He murmured to himself, "Where one can see…"

Behind him, Jaken stirred to life, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"…Sesshoumaru-sama?" He croaked as if he thought he was hallucinating.

"Where can one see, Jaken?" Sesshoumaru asked suddenly. Maybe he was thinking too hard on this and it only required a simple answer, not a complicated one. Jaken looked up, surprised, as he wrung out his sleeves, his eyes still slightly crossed.

"Why, my Lord…where one can see would be the eyes. Why would you ask me such a—" He froze, recognizing the line as one of the clues to where Tetsusaiga was hidden.

"Tetsusaiga is where one can see. In the eye. It cannot be seen by its own keeper. It makes sense." He said softly, "But who's eye, and how?"

"My Lord, I think—"

"Quiet, Jaken. We are returning to the castle." He stood in the boat jumped into the air, forming his demonic cloud beneath him and took off. Jaken squawked and jumped on just before the Lord took off.

When they returned to the castle, Sesshoumaru went straight for the Main Library. As he pushed open the large oak doors, the smell of old paper hit him hard. He took a deep breath and started searching for something that could help him with in predicament. What was a way that something could be sealed inside an eye?

He strode into the immense, seven story library with books wall-to-floor and went to the center where there was a catalogue of the information that could be found. He flipped through the large leather-bound tome and found what he was looking for; the mage artifact section.

Mages where beings who could use a variety of sorcery and spells. They are extremely rare, but incredibly powerful. There have been a few in the West in the past and when they passed away, they left their towers full to the brim with the books that they studied from. Those books where brought to the Western Castle and put in the Main Library. Sesshoumaru thought these books could help him.

He noted the location of the section in his head and then set out to find it. The mage artifacts where on the second floor, way in a corner. He located the bookshelf about seals and related items. He pulled many books from the shelf that he thought might be necessary. He easily carried what should have been an unbearable armful of books balanced on one arm and swept over to one of the desks.

Somewhere in the fourth book he found a chapter about something called the White Pearl which he thought was interesting. He read about in the following pages, thinking more and more that this could be what it was. He started getting excited, but then he read that the White Pearl, which could be concealed in the eye, was only a mirage; a memory that could be unknowingly stored in someone. That couldn't work, the Tetsusaiga was not a memory that he wanted to see; he wanted to hold it and use it to help him gain Supreme Conquest. A mirage would be of no use to him, so he continued his search.

This time, in the midst of the seventh book he opened, he found something else called the Black Pearl. This intrigued him because it could also be sealed into the eye, but he wasn't given false hope this time. He thoroughly researched it in the book and in his remaining books as well and was satisfied with his findings. The Black Pearl could conceal a solid, hidden location in one compressed black ball of time, space, and matter.

Underneath the information was the way to retrieve it. That also answered the question as to which eye the Pearl was hidden in. All he had to do was focus his power at the apex of his fingers and it would immediately be pulled to the eye that held the Black Pearl, and from there you just had to coax it out. It was attracted to concentrated demonic energy like a magnet.

He was very certain this was how the Tetsusaiga was hidden. But in this finding emerged another issue: who was it sealed in?

He stood and left the library, returning to his chambers. He was actually supposed to move into his father's quarters when he became Lord, but he found that he didn't want to. He didn't want to bear the weight of death every time he walked into his chambers and actually had the room completely sealed off. The door was taken out and the wall was filled in seamlessly as if it had never been there.

Sesshoumaru settled in the sitting area of his chambers, but then felt restless. He stood and went to his balcony, looking out over the grounds. It was raining at the moment; the castle falling victim to one of the numerous summer showers. As his eyes roamed, his mind did too. The fresh smell of clean rain relaxed him as his thoughts roused.

"_Who could have the Black Pearl in their eye? Who would father trust to unyieldingly fight for his or her life and blindly protect the Black Pearl and would also be ignorant enough to never figure out they where concealing such a secret?"_ His mind raced over many candidates. Akina; Miyuki; Myoga; the old swordsmith, Totosai; even Jaken. He turned down each of them for a wide array of reasons, and then his mind rolled over Inuyasha.

It was true that the Staff of Heads has been changing direction lately and Jaken did say that the hanyou had been released.

Sesshoumaru smirked. Yes, that had to be it. And now the only question was how to do it? He thought over strategies in his head. Many of them included torture and pain in them. His molten eyes glinted maliciously as a particularly gruesome approach formulated in his head.

He was mulling over the details when Miyuki ported in. He pulled his eyes away from the falling twilight and the yielding light rain, and set them on his servant expectantly.

"Excuse me, my Lord, but the search team thinks they found another location…" He said hesitantly. Sesshoumaru looked quite testy and Miyuki could understand why when the previous location had been a frustrating waste of time. However, he wasn't expecting the Lord's next order, though.

"Tell them that they are no longer needed. I have ascertained the proper location." He said coldly, turning back to the dimming sky. Miyuki's jaw hung open just a bit in surprise, but he snapped it shut a minute later.

"You have?" He blurted incredulously.

"I will not repeat myself." He snapped back. The Panther was taken aback when his curt tone cut into him and he cleared his throat slightly, looking away.

"No, forgive me, I…I was just surprised. How did you figure it out?"

"That is no concern of yours." He growled softly, and then turned back to gazing out of the balcony.

"Yes, My Lord. I apologize." He waited for a few seconds, but when Sesshoumaru said nothing more he considered it his moment to leave and he quickly ported out.

The Lord watched the light rain fall and let it calm him again after being frustrated with the impudence of his servant. He resumed brainstorming for quite a while, but suddenly he found himself thinking of something different.

Why would his father seal the Black Pearl in the hanyou's eye in the first place? The late Lord knew that his first son hated the second-what would be accomplished by forcing them to meet? His father also knew that Sesshoumaru planned to kill the younger brother. Why would he encourage them to meet?

Certainly he didn't want his hanyou son dead or he never would have sired it in the first place. And certainly he wasn't expecting Sesshoumaru to suddenly accept the runt just because they came face to face for the first time, or to contract a nasty case of loving brotherhood. Or did he actually think that he would never find it? No, Inutaishou knew well that his son was extremely resourceful and bright. Sesshoumaru scoffed at the mere thought.

It seemed the answer to that question was not available at the time being so he swept the thoughts to the back of his mind and returned the more important things to the forefront.

As he stood there, formulating his grisly plan, a thought began growing in the back of his head. What else might the hanyou be valuable for? The abomination was the blind guardian of the Black Pearl—so what else could this hanyou be inadvertently hiding? There was the other sword Sesshoumaru would eventually desire to have. So'unga was the most powerful of all and with the other two swords also in his possession, he could rule over all four of the Cardinal Lands.

Right now, though, his only desire was the Tetsusaiga. He had to master that sword first to then be able to conquer So'unga's incredible strength. Of course there was the other sword as well—the Tenseiga. But it was useless and served no purpose for him or his ambitions.

He put his macabre plan on the backburner, contemplating now that it might not be best to kill of the hanyou just yet. He was internally disappointed because he wouldn't be able to have the pleasure of killing the shame of his clan. But there was no reason he had to completely give it up, was there? A faint devilish smirk tainted his lips and his eyes glittered spitefully. This could still be enjoyable—he just had to devise a plan.

He turned his gaze up to the brightening sky as the thin clouds parted and the radiant sun shone over the sodden slopes of the courtyards and grounds.

By the next day, around noon, Sesshoumaru was satisfied with his strategy and finally moved from his spot on his balcony where he stood contemplative the entire night. When he calmly opened the dual doors to exit his chamber, he was met by Akina.

She had matured over the years too, her now pale golden hair was longer and wavy and her bangs framed the light violet circle on her forehead. She also had violet eyes that felt like they could just pull you right into their amethyst depths. She had grown into a loving, proper young lady and was the shining ray of life in the castle.

Sesshoumaru was the dark Lord that dimmed everything and could put the Fear of God into all the servants and advisors with just one patented death glare. He now did things as he wanted, too. About a week after he became Lord, one of the advisors tried to hassle him with the eight foot long schedule. He killed the unfortunate demon and melted the agenda, wrapping it in his acid whip, and unperturbedly letting the scant ashes fall on the dead body. He wasn't taking orders from others anymore. He was Lord now.

Akina was the only one that on no account took his crap, mostly because she could fling it right back at him—double the power. Though she was usually very good-natured, she could be a violent spitfire sometimes. He learned that the hard way back a few years ago when he tried to bully her into leaving him be concerning the topic of his hanyou half-brother. She was furious and refused to back down and let him flaunt around his alpha male attitude. She had concocted a raging storm that covered the castle grounds for at least a month before he grudgingly apologized.

At the moment, she stood before his door, her arms crossed. Sesshoumaru scowled lightly down at her, wondering what she could be upset about this time.

"What?" He asked, his calm tone belaying his testy mood.

"Where are you going?" She asked him, her eyes sharp as they dug into him like piercing swords.

"I am going to retrieve an item of property that is rightfully mine. Is there something I can do for you?" He asked her. His deep voice was heavily tainted with sarcasm. He honestly didn't care about what she wanted if she intended to get in his way.

"Don't." She hissed warningly through gritted teeth, hinting for him not to get on her bad side. He glared at her with narrowed eyes but she continued; brushing off his glare. "I had a feeling you were up to something you'd regret and I was right. Miyuki told me that you've found out where your father's grave is and I don't think you should go."

"What do you know? I did not tell that servant where the grave was, so how do you know if going is a bad choice for me?" He asked, his tone icy.

"Sesshoumaru, I know the Black Pearl is in Inuyasha's right eye because I was the one who put it there for your father after he passed away." She snapped at him. He fell silent, processing this piece of information. He found he didn't care. He was put off because she kept it from him and helped his traitor of a father, but it didn't matter now because he already found out on his own accord. There was nothing she could actually do to stop him so he shouldered past her and strode down the corridor. He heard her angry footsteps behind him as she followed.

"I'm telling you, it would be better if you just left Tetsusaiga! It will do _you_ no better than the Tenseiga." She growled, her violet eyes flaming. He stopped and slowly turned to her.

"You will not tell me what is better for me. The swords that belonged to my father rightfully belong to me now; his heir. I will not leave it in the hands of a stinking hanyou. Not as long as I am still breathing. You kept the location from me long enough. Now I will claim what is mine." He told her firmly, a deep growl resonating in his throat, and he spun again. The Lord strode tersely to the Entrance Hall and left without another word.

Akina frowned after him and felt a satisfaction deep in her chest, knowing the Dog would have to come back to her, eating his words. But she never in her wildest nightmares expected him to return to her in the state he did a week later.

He arrived by using his most extreme form of transportation. She had only seen him use it once before. He was able to morph into a sphere of pure energy and soar through the air. This was only used in severe emergencies.

Akina was in the Entrance Hall, waiting for the pompous Lord to return, and got the shock of her lifetime when she saw the golden sphere come flying towards the castle. It soared to her, hovering before her for a moment and then it stretched out into the familiar form of Sesshoumaru.

When he appeared, his eyes and jaw were clenched closed in pain and his form was trembling non-stop as if he was extremely cold. He was clutching his left arm; crimson blood stained his entire left side and his breathing was ragged. He'd lost so much blood.

Akina cried out when she saw him and rushed to his side, ignored his protesting and picked him up, holding the Dog Demon Lord bridal style as she dashed him to his chambers as full speed. If he was concerned about being seen by anyone in the castle, he need not have worried. Akina moved so fast that they were absolutely not able to be seen.

In his chambers she healed the skin of the severed arm to stop the bleeding. Afterwards she sat at the end of his bed and tried to talk to him about what happened, but he wouldn't speak. She ended up leaving him to himself only a short half hour after she brought him in.

She didn't see him for another week after that. She could not say that she was worried, because she knew he could take care of himself, but she was so curious as to how he returned missing an arm. That kind of injury, even to a demon such as he, was very serious. She was pretty much certain that it would never grow back, though there could be a chance. That had to be a strike to his ego, she was also certain of that.

A few months passed and Sesshoumaru was around the castle again, but he was angrier and deadlier than ever. He killed servants arbitrarily and was an absolute tyrant. Akina caught him one day, knowing he had been eluding her, and made him talk about what happened, gently coaxing it out of him as only a true friend could.

He reluctantly divulged the whole story and she was sympathetic to his mistakes rather than rub it in his face that she was right like other's might have. As unbearable as Sesshoumaru had been, Akina knew he regretted treating her the way he did and not listening to her, and she didn't require a verbal apology.

The Western Lands were quiet again for a while, but sure enough something else had to go wrong. Stories of the sacred Shikon Jewel's shattering had carried themselves all the way to the Western Castle, causing problems for Sesshoumaru. Many upper-class demons where emerging, wanting sacred jewel shards for themselves and they were causing trouble around the lands. One of those demons that somehow stood far above the rest was another stinking hanyou named Naraku.

Sesshoumaru knew with the emerging demons he needed to become stronger. He needed to get the Tetsusaiga. There had to be a way. Any way.

He had a run-in with the blasted hanyou, Naraku about two weeks back. That damn abomination had too many jewel shards and Sesshoumaru thought that they made him think he was too high and mighty. He would have loved to cut down the filthy half-demon right there, but he had an interesting plan. He presented the lord with a human arm. At first Sesshoumaru was disgusted at the mere idea of having it near him, let alone attaching it to the remaining stump of his left arm. But there was a twist; the arm had a jewel shard in it.

He, himself had never been interested in acquiring any of the Shikon Shards. He was not interested in short-cuts that could be taken away as easily as they were attained. He required real power, and only a sword as strong as Tetsusaiga could get him that.

What this hanyou was proposing might have gotten him real power and he was curious enough to give it a try. It was a good thought, but the human arm was too weak. He was able to hold the Tetsusaiga, though, and show his damned hanyou half-brother what real power actually was. But the arm wasn't strong enough and was only temporary. The hanyou had given him an odd hive with instructions to throw it into the air if the monk that followed his half-brother tried to fight. He said it contain his Hell Insects, but nothing more.

He had to admit, he didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't too big of a surprise when poisonous insects where released. He was a little disappointed at the uncreative twist. He was hoping for the hive to hold something lethal at least, but of course he _was_ dealing with a fool of a hanyou.

In the long run, the arm was too weak to conduct his power through it and keep the sword transformed. That ultimately was the reason that the hanyou was able to take back the Tetsusaiga. Of course Sesshoumaru wouldn't have made it that easy. He had dug his hand clean through his younger half-brother's body.

After that, he went his own way. He searched his lands endlessly for a strong enough opponent to steal an arm from so he could at least have a left arm. One that wouldn't rot away. Most he found where too weak. He wanted that sword. When he used it for that short time, there were no words to explain how strong he felt. There had to be a way to get around his father's damn barrier.

No demon arm could hold the Tetsusaiga. And it had, for some reason, chosen the hanyou for a Master. He just had to show it who could be a better Master. He needed to show the sword who was the stronger of the two. But first he had to listen to it. A sword could 'speak' when it was rung, or was struck sharply. It had to be crying out from having such a weak owner. When it saw who was the stronger son of the Great Dog Lord, it would drop its barriers and he could hold it.

He had obtained a Dragon's arm and attached it to the remains of his own. He used it in battle with his half-brother and listened to Tetsusaiga's sorrowful resonance. He didn't need to fight Inuyasha; he needed to fight the sword. And if it didn't give in, he would break it.

Things didn't go as he planned and Inuyasha finally saw the Wind Scar. That was another mistake Sesshoumaru made and he was badly injured when he was hit with the blow of the Kaze no Kizu.

Though in retrospect, as he looked back at it now, he was grateful for that day.

At the Western Castle in the grounds, he was sitting on the stone bench underneath his chambers' balcony with the little girl, Rin, in his lap.

As he stroked her soft, brown hair, he thought of his past; the problems he'd gotten through and the problems that still vexed him. It seemed like just a while ago he was crying over his mother's dead body. He thought of his life like chapters. One about his happy childhood, another about his mother and the next, his father. He wondered what the next chapter would be about and if it would be pleasant or just another horror story like the rest.

He looked down at the young dozing girl. She was sitting in his lap, curled to his chest. One of her small hands gently clutched a section of his haori as she slept. He stroked her hair and looked to his other side where his faithful, yet endlessly annoying retainer sat. The small bald head thrown back as he snored; a large snot bubble grew and shrunk as he breathed.

Tomorrow he was planning to do his rounds and the sky was already darkening. In one silent motion he swatted Jaken off the bench and sent him spluttering in the dirt below him. He lifted his head with alarmed yellow eyes darting every which way.

"Wha-what's happening?" He cried as he jumped to his feet searching for his Staff of Heads as if he expected a war to break out.

"I am taking Rin to her room so she can rest. You feed her when she wakes up," he ordered, his voice even and calm as always.

"Er, um, yes sir! I will!"

The next day, the three set off with Rin riding on Ah-Un's back and Jaken waddling a few steps behind his Lord. They made their way around the skirts of the Western Lands with no incidents. He was glad that his lands were in a temporary state of peace. When they were just about done, Sesshoumaru detected a scent and frowned inwardly, altering their course.

"M-my Lord, where are we going?" Jaken asked as he made a sharp turn onto a different path in the forest.

"Shut up, Jaken." Sesshoumaru replied calmly.

"Ah, yes Sir!"

The smell he picked up was that of his hanyou brother. The whelp was in his lands, and he was not going to stand for that filth to remain. His eyes narrowed angrily at his half-brother's audacity.

As he was on his way, striding purposefully, he was caught by his nose with a wonderful, pleasing scent. He stopped; Jaken bumped into the back of his legs, and looked around.

"What is it, my Lord?" He squawked, peering around his Master's legs.

"Stay here, Jaken," Sesshoumaru ordered as he walked away. When he was through the trees and lost from view, Rin took a few steps forward before Jaken stopped her.

"Hey! Rin! Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going with Lord Sesshoumaru!" She chimed happily.

"Oh, no you don't! Our lord ordered us to stay here!"

"No Master Jaken, our Lord ordered _you _to stay here." She smiled and skipped after her Sesshoumaru-sama, humming a tune. Jaken spluttered indignantly and stomped his foot as she left him behind.

Sesshoumaru heard Rin approaching and turned from the wall of entangled bushes before him to look at the small girl coolly. She smiled up at him, but her attention was soon stolen away by the figure beyond the snarl of bushes which mostly hid the immense wildflower field before them. She peered through the leaves at the dancing girl as she moved through the flowers like a flowing spirit.

Her eyes widened with delight and she let out a short, joyful laugh. Suddenly Sesshoumaru called her.

"Come, Rin." He demanded gently. She came to him, a pout on her young face.

"Oh, but Sesshoumaru-sama! Can't we watch her dancing some more?" She asked, her voice sweet and innocent; completely enchanted. "Please, Sesshoumaru-sama?" She pressed him further as he seemed like he was going to refuse. The demon studied her, then relented and sighed internally.

"Fine," Sesshoumaru said dismissively. She clapped her hands together and smiled with pleasure. Sesshoumaru inwardly brightened just by seeing her innocent happiness. "Jaken!" He summoned his retainer. The imp came tripping through the trees in his haste. The green demon stopped in front of his Lord, bowing low.

He told his servant to watch Rin until he came back and then he took his leave. They had been out for a week and since they were returning shortly, he wanted to find somewhere to clean himself so he didn't return to the castle smelling of woods and sweat.

He found a spring and was undressing so he could bathe, when he heard a scream which he identified as Rin's. His heart pounded and he bolted from the area, back to the field of flowers.

He was chagrined at what he found. His half-brother's miko, the human named Kagome, was tickling his charge who was letting out peals of happy laughter.

Rin noticed him and promptly caught his leg in a hug. She proceeded to introduce Kagome to her Lord and at that moment asked the question that would begin the next chapter of Sesshoumaru's life.

"Can Kagome-chan stay with us?"

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A/N: Alright! So that's it for this story! The main story picks up right where this one leaves off, so please continue! ^-^

I update quicker if I feel like I have an audience, if not, then…y'know, what's the point? So please drop me a review, tell me how you're liking it!


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